Betrayal Strikes When You Least Expect It
by Iwillforgetthisl8er
Summary: CURRENTLY ON HOLD. When a secret Chloe and Aubrey have been keeping comes to light, will the Mitchell family be able to prevent themselves from falling apart? And will Jesse and Beca ever be able to forgive the ones they love? Rated T. Warning: Endgame N/A, might be Bechloe, might be OC, not sure.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. So, here it is, the sequel to Tragedy Strikes When You Least Expect It (or as I like to refer to it in my head 'TSWYLEI'). I hope you guys like this, but I have a feeling you'll be extremely disappointed in/upset with/angry at me because honestly I'm mad at myself for this right now and I haven't even actually written it yet… so just bear with me, alright? Yeah. Also, this is taking place 11 years after the end of TSWYLEI. Just a heads up, I know it says that in the description, but… yeah.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters from that movie. I do, however, own the characters I create/created for this story and the actual story. **

**Chloe POV-**

I follow Beca as she throws the bedroom door open and storms down the stairs into the living room, cursing under her breath. "Beca, please." I say desperately, grabbing her arm. She whips around, wrenching her arm away from me, her eyes flashing with anger and pain. So much pain.

"Don't." She growls, her voice lower than I've ever heard it. "Just don't, Chloe."

"Moms?" Our eleven year old daughter, Molly, says as she freezes in the doorway. "What's going on?"

Our fifteen year old son, JJ, pounds down the stairs, his two 17 year old twin sisters Alix and Rose running closely behind, their eyes all wide. JJ flicks his shaggy bangs off away from his eyes as he comes to a stop beside us. As Rose steps up beside him, I notice Alix split off and say something to Molly, who rolls her eyes and stomps up the stairs. Alix turns around and walks over to us slowly, almost cautiously, and Beca shakes her head. "Go upstairs, kids." She says, and her voice is stern.

Surprisingly, they all ignore her words, JJ scowling at us. "Why are you guys fighting?" He asks, his voice deep and raspy, just as it's been since he hit puberty.

Beca forces a fake optimistic smile. "We aren't fighting, we're just having a slight disagreement."

JJ crosses his arms, and Rose and Alix place their hands on their hips. "Then where are you going, mom?" He asks, directed at Beca as he eyes her jacket and shoes, which she haphazardly pulled on in our room.

Beca sighs. "JJ, Alix, Rose, if you don't go upstairs right now, you're all grounded. I'll be back soon, I just need some air."

JJ runs a hand through his hair as he sighs. "Fine, but don't think for a second that I buy that. When you're ready to tell us the truth…" He trails off, running up the stairs. Rose follows quickly, hastily walking up the stairs, but Alix hesitates and lags behind.

"You guys aren't… you're going to be okay, right?" She whispers, and Beca sighs, pulling her into a hug.

Alix slides her arms around her mom, locking the short brunette to her. Beca whispers something to Alix and then pulls away, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Go upstairs with your siblings, Alix." She whispers. As soon as Alix obeys, Beca turns to me, her eyes wary.

"Are we going to be okay, Beca?" I whisper, almost afraid of her answer.

I know I was right to be afraid when her eyes dim even more and tears fill them. "I don't know, Chloe." She whispers back, her voice cracking. "I really don't know. I'll be at Kaylie's tonight, and I'll be back tomorrow afternoon." She pauses for another moment and then looks up at me. "I don't think we will be okay." Before I can respond, she's out the door, leaving me speechless as I let out a choking sound. The door closes with a slam and I drop to our couch, burying my face in my hands as I start to cry.

Heavy footsteps thump down the stairs and I smell JJ's cologne before he drops beside me. "What's going on, mama?" He questions softly, and I rub the tears away, sniffling as I look up at my son. His shaggy chin length hair is slightly curly around the edges, seeing as he didn't straighten it today, and as he flicks his very curly bangs out of his face once again I find myself looking straight into Beca's dark blue eyes. At that thought, tears gather in my eyes, tears I try to hold back because I don't want to lean on my child.

"I made a mistake." I pause for a moment before adding "A lot of mistakes, actually."

JJ furrows his eyebrows together. "So what?" He asks after a minute, raising one of them. "Everyone makes mistakes, that doesn't mean that mom can just walk out like that." He points out.

I shake my head, pushing his bangs aside to look at his eyes again. "Oh, buddy, I'm so sorry." I whisper, leaning forward and kissing his cheek. "Your mom has every right to what she just did, and so much more."

JJ pulls me into a hug, his burly arms more like those of an eighteen year old instead of the fifteen year old he actually is. "I'm sure whatever it is, mama, you'll work it out." I force myself to give him what I hope is an optimistic smile, even though my thoughts are anything but that. After a few moments, he stands up and walks back upstairs. I flop back onto the couch, racking my mind for reasons why I did what I did. Why I kept on doing it. I think of Beca, of all of the sweet things she's ever done for me, for the kids. I think of how they'll react when they find out what I did. Tears gather in my eyes as I think of what she said. _I don't think we will be okay._ I feel acid and bile rising up in my throat, and the only two people I can think to call would be Beca and Aubrey, but neither of them are an option of comfort right now.

Rose storms down the stairs, coming to a stop before me as her eyes flash with anger. "Why'd mom leave?"

"Rose, that's between your mom and me." I tell her, suddenly feeling even more exhausted than I did.

She crosses her arms, her naturally curly red hair bouncing slightly as she glares down on me. "When it involves the possibility of our family falling apart, I think it's between all of us, alright?"

"Don't speak to me like that ever again, Rose." I warn her. Then I sigh, rubbing my hands across my eyes. "I made some mistakes, Rose." I tell her, and Rose's eyes narrow.

Suddenly, her whole posture stiffens. "No."

I whip my eyes to hers, trying to convince myself that no matter how advanced Rose's intelligence is, she couldn't have figured it out that fast. "What?" I ask, hoping the nervousness I'm feeling is masked.

Rose takes a slight step back, her face shocked and pale. "Did you…" She trails off, seemingly not wanting to voice it. "Did you cheat on mom?" I know, by the look on her face, what she wants to hear. She wants to hear me say no, for me to tell her that she's ridiculous for even thinking it, but I can't force anything past the lump in my throat, so I drop my eyes from hers. "Mama, tell me you didn't." I don't respond, instead staring at the ground, refusing to look at her. And then, my sweet, carbon copy little girl, speaks again. Her voice is filled with sadness and confusion and pain as she breathes out raggedly "Who are you?" I lift my gaze to her's.

"I'm your mother, Rose." I whisper desperately, but she shakes her head fiercely.

"My mother never would have cheated on my mom, never would have done this to her. My mother would never have done this to _all_ of us. So I don't know who you are, but you're sure as hell not my mother." Before I can respond, she's running up the stairs.

I bury my face in my hands, crying again, shamed. She's absolutely right. I can't even bring myself to be angry at her words, because she's saying the truth that Beca wouldn't say, that she refused to say. The truth that I deserve to hear.

**Beca POV-**

My hands fisted at my sides, I sit in silence on the door step. After a few minutes, Jesse and Aubrey pull into the driveway. They both get out of the car, looking worried, and my nails cut into my palm as I stand up. I push past Aubrey, ignoring them both as I get into the backseat of the car. They climb in and as we drive away, Jesse begins to talk. "Beca, are you alright?"

I swallow harshly, suddenly getting choked up, and force myself to nod. "I'm fine." I choke out, and then Aubrey's turning around to face me. Not willing to look at her, I stare at the floor.

"Beca," She says softly. "What happened?"

I rip my eyes to hers, glaring at her. "You know damn well what happened, Posen."

Aubrey looks down guiltily. "She told you?"

I slam my fists down on the leather seat, barely missing my legs. "Yes, Aubrey, she told me." I flick my eyes to Jesse. "The real question is, have you told him? I'm assuming not because he's not royally pissed." I growl.

Jesse's eyes lock on mine in the rearview mirror. He raises his eyebrows. "Why are you taking out your anger on Aubrey, Beca?" He asks. There's a disapproving tone to his voice that I hate.

"Are you going to tell him or should I?" I question her, and she visibly gulps, looking at him with sadness and shaking her head.

"I will. Just… not now." She tells me, her eyes begging me.

I shake my head. "Nope. Tell him now or don't tell him at all, but I'll tell him." I offer my ultimatum, and she shakes her head as tears gather in her eyes. "He deserves to know, Aubrey. We both deserved to know a long time ago."

Aubrey turns back around, her voice ragged as she whispers to him. "Jesse, pull over." He does as she asks immediately, turning to her with a worried expression on his face, obviously waiting for her to explain. "Jesse…" Tears gather in her eyes as she sucks in a deep breath. "Jesse, I cheated on you."

His eyes go wide, and he shakes his head. "No."

She nods, tears streaking down her face. "I've been cheating on you, for around six months. I've been cheating on you."

He sucks in a deep breath, tears streaking down his face as well. "Why? And how does Beca know this, but not me?" Now he looks at me, and I feel my own tears start to spill.

"Tell him the rest, Aubrey." I choke out, and Jesse's wide, panicked and disbelieving eyes lock onto mine and stay there as Aubrey tells him the rest.

"I've been cheating on you with Chloe." She chokes out, and Jesse's face goes deathly white. He turns around, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles match his face, and then he speeds towards Kaylie's house. No one speaks, besides Aubrey's voice pleading every once in a while for Jesse to slow down, to calm down, but he doesn't answer. When we pull into the driveway, Jesse cuts the engine, leaving us in deadly silence.

After a moment, he speaks. His tone is cordial, the tears no longer falling, as he says curtly "I'll be staying here tonight with Beca. Aubrey, you can take the car back to our apartment. We can discuss this when I come to get my stuff tomorrow."

He turns to get out, but Aubrey grabs his arm. "That's it? We aren't going to even talk about this? It's just over?"

He doesn't turn around as he pulls his arm out of her grasp. "I haven't been enough for you for at least six months, Aubrey. I don't think you need me anymore." Before she can respond, he's out the door. I pull the lock up and open the door.

Aubrey whips around towards me, her eyes unreadable. "Beca, I'm so sorry." She whimpers, but I ignore her, getting out and running to the door with Jesse. We ring the doorbell, and Kaylie opens it, her eyes sorrowful. I texted her while we were driving the rest of the way here.

"Come in, come in." She says gently. "Jamie's here, Elizabeth is at the store, and Xavier is out at a party at a bar." She tells us, rolling her eyes. It's still hard for me to wrap my head around their ages. Elizabeth is twenty seven, Jamie's twenty four, and Xavier just turned twenty one.

She walks off, towards the kitchen, and Jesse grabs my eyes. The mask is down, pain filling his eyes, so I wrap him in a hug. "I know, Jess. I know." I sniffle into his shoulder, and then we walk into the living room.

"Aunt Beca! Where's Chloe?" Jamie asks, standing up and engulfing me in a hug. "'Sup, Jess?" I stiffen at the mention of my wife and Jamie immediately notices and releases me. "Woah, did something happen, Becs?"

"Leave it alone, Jamie." Kaylie advises him as she brings two plates of food into the room, handing one to me and one to Jesse with a small, sympathetic smile. "Beca and Jesse are going to stay here tonight." She tells him, and he nods slowly, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Just then, Elizabeth bursts through the door. "I'm back- Aunt Beca!" She shouts. She runs over to me, pulling me into her arms. Although Elizabeth was short growing up, in high school she hit a growth spurt and is now well taller than me. Last year she took to calling me 'mini Lizzie'. "Where's Chloe?"

I stiffen again, and Elizabeth holds her hands up in surrender as Kaylie repeats "Leave it alone."

After Jesse and I finish eating, we head to the guest bedroom. "I can't believe they did this to us." He whispers, the pain raw in his voice. He's on the bed, as per my insistence, so I look up at him from the ground as he looks down at me.

I blink away tears, ashamed that I feel this way. "Yeah, Jesse. I can't either." We sit in silence for a while before he begins to snore loudly. I sigh, staring at the ceiling, resigned to the fact that I'm not going to get any sleep tonight. Not like I would've anyways. Chloe cheated.

"_Beca, I've been cheating on you for the past six months." I whip around towards Chloe. When she'd said that we needed to talk… I hadn't known what to expect, but quite frankly it wasn't this._

"_What?" I breathe out. "Is this a joke?" My voice takes on an edge. "Cuz this isn't funny, Chloe. Not at all."_

_She just shakes her head at me, tears gathering in her eyes. "I'm not joking and I'm not lying, Beca. It's true."_

_I drop onto the bed, seeing nothing. My vision blurs. How could she have done this to me? I yank my head towards hers, clearing the tears I didn't notice as I blink them back. "Who did you cheat on me with?"_

"_What?" She asks, confusion seeping into the regret I see now in her eyes. Regret for telling me, regret for cheating, or both? Either way, I could care less. She has no right to be in pain right now. I do._

"_Who. Did. You. Cheat. On. Me. With. For. So. Long?" I ask, careful to not let her see the pain yet._

_She shakes her head before blurting it out. "Aubrey."_

_I can't stop myself from gasping, the sharp intake of air, snapping her gaze back to me. I quickly force the emotion out of my eyes, flattening my lips into an indifferent line, but Chloe can see through it. She's always seen through it. I close my eyes, not able to look at her as I whisper one word. "Why?"_

_Chloe swallows audibly, and I have to force myself to not go to her, comfort her. I plant my feet and dig my hands into the comforter as she chokes out her response. "I don't know, Beca. She was just there when we had that huge blowout fight six months ago, and then we just… kept on doing it."_

_I whip my eyes open, glaring at her. "That's all I get? 'It just happened'? Is that all you can think of, Chloe? I don't even get a real reason why? What did I do wrong?" At that, my voice breaks, tears flooding my eyes and starting to fall._

"_No, baby, you didn't do anything wrong." She says desperately, reaching for me as she walks towards me. I jump up, backing away from her._

"_Don't touch me." I order, grabbing my jacket and slinging it on as I shove my shoes on my feet. "I can't be here right now. I can't even look at you."_

"_Beca, please!" She cries, following me to the door. _

"_We're not going to talk about this with the kids in the house, Chloe. I was ten when my parents started fighting, when my mom found out my dad had cheated on her, and I know what it's like to be at that age when your parents are fighting all the time. I won't do that to Molly, JJ, Rose or Alix, no matter their ages. They don't deserve to be hurt that way." I turn to the door again and throw it open, stalking out, hoping she won't follow. She does follow, of course, and then I have to make myself seem like the bad guy to the kids. Alix's question strikes my heart, so I hug her as I whisper "I'll be back, Alix, I'm not going to pack up and leave, alright?" I wouldn't do that to my kids. I'm not my dad. I can't say the same about Chloe, because I used to believe that she wouldn't ever cheat on me._

**Alix's POV-**

I listen to Rose's voice raise, still not able to make out her words, and then I hear her footsteps pounding up the stairs. She runs into the room, her eyes wide with tears streaming down her face. "Woah, Rosie, what's wrong?" I ask, and she shakes her head. I run over and pull her into my arms, JJ and Molly coming up behind us.

"Rose." JJ says softly after Rose's tears subside. "What did you and mama talk about?"

Rose pulls away from me, her eyes now burning with anger. "We talked about the fact that she cheated on mom."

I let out a slight gasp, and turn to our younger siblings. Molly's eyes widen and then fill with tears. "Are they gonna get d-divorced?" She whimpers, and I pull my black haired, blue eyed sister into my arms.

"It's okay, sweetie, don't worry." I kiss the top of her head as she wraps her arms around my waist, shooting JJ and Rose warning looks. "Everything will be okay." After twenty minutes of crying, Molly finally goes to her room. After about ten more minutes, Rose creeps over to Molly's room and looks inside, checking to see if Molly actually is asleep. When she decides that she is, she walks back in to our room. Since Rose and I share everything, we have the biggest room out of the kids, and we share it. Literally, the only thing that makes it easy to distinguish us from one another is our hair. I always straighten mine, whereas Rose leaves hers in wild curls. I guess that kind of describes us, I'm calmer, more straight edged, while Rose is wild, willing to bend the rules. And also willing to confront one of our parents about cheating, apparently.

She flings herself onto her bed, and JJ joins her, sitting with his back against the headboard. I sit next to her, intertwining our hands. She squeezes mine, shooting me a grateful look as she explains her 'conversation' with mama. "I can't believe she would do that to mom." JJ sighs, running a hand through his floppy hair. Everyone else calls it shaggy, including Rose, but not me.

"I can't believe you let your hair grow that long." I joke tensely, and JJ scowls when Rose laughs. After a few moments, he joins in. We all sober a few seconds later.

"I mean… that's just… can you imagine how mom feels right now? She never did anything to deserve this." Rose whispers. "But of course she'll blame herself, just like she blames herself for everything that's ever gone wrong in her life."

I nod, and I don't realize I've gone still until Rose nudges me with her shoulder. "Al? You okay?"

I nod slowly, and then I let out a deep sigh. "What if they do get divorced?" I whisper.

JJ crosses his arms defiantly as he says blatantly "I'll go with mom. She didn't do anything, and she doesn't deserve to lose us too."

I feel my jaw drop, and I close it with a snap. "JJ, you can't really say that, can you? Yeah, mama cheated, but she doesn't deserve to lose us either!"

JJ's eyes get somewhat darker. "Yeah, well. She can deal with the visitation rights." He snaps. "I was just down there comforting her, when I should've been yelling at her. I don't even understand why… why mom wasn't enough for her."

Rose rolls her eyes and squeezes my hand as she places her free one on JJ's shoulder. "Hey, don't talk about them divorcing as if it's decided. Mom probably found out today and then left immediately, which probably means that they didn't talk about it. So nothing's been decided yet. And mom is tough, she won't let this defeat her." Rose sighs. "We've got to stick together, through all of this, and that includes Molly, alright? We need to protect her from this. And we need to let both of our moms know that we love them through all of this and whatever decisions they make because we _do_." She tells us. "I went off on mama down there, and I told her that I don't know who she is. While that's not a lie, I didn't say that I don't love her because I do. We all do. Right?"

JJ pauses for a second before responding. "Yes." He sighs. "No matter what."

They turn to me. I flash them a wry smile that fades pretty fast. "Mama said she'd be back tomorrow, so maybe we should get out of the house for a day? Take Molly to _Wild Waves_ and go for ice cream after?" I suggest.

Rose nods. "Yeah, that'd be perfect. It gets us away so they can talk and stops Moll from asking questions."

JJ sticks his hand out, hovering over the middle of the bed. Rose follows suit, and they both stare at me expectantly. Rolling my eyes, I stick mine in too. "Family forever, no matter what." Rose states clearly.

JJ and I smile at her, saying "Always." We say it perfectly, one fluid word with no hesitation, years of practice aiding us. JJ leaves soon after that, waving goodbye while dropping out a quick joke and cracking a small smile before fleeing to his room.

I walk over to my bed after hugging Rose, laying down with a small sigh. After about twenty minutes, Rose sighs, rolls over and starts to speak. "Alix?" She whispers. "Are you awake?" I don't respond, scared that if I do she won't say what she's about to say and my sister and I will grow farther apart. "I know you think I'm strong and a leader, Alix, and that nothing fazes me anymore, but that's not true." I think back for a minute, deciding that I do in fact believe that about her sometimes, until suddenly she's talking again. "And I try to be strong for you and JJ and Molly, although honestly it's mostly for you. You don't know how much you mean to me, Alix. You're my best friend." She sighs again. "I kinda wish you were awake right now. That way, I wouldn't have to work up the courage to say what I'm about to say. Here goes, I guess. I'm scared, Alix. Of a lot of things. I'm scared that one day you're going to get sick of me bossing you around, and you'll hate me. I'm scared that Molly's going to end up like me, scared to show people just who vulnerable she is. I'm scared that one day my apologies aren't going to be enough for you to still forgive me. And the only stable things I really have are family. I have our bond and JJ and Molly and I know they need me. I'm not so sure about you. And I thought that mom and mama would always be loyal to one another, you know? But what's going to happen if our family falls apart? What if we get separated?" She pauses, her breathing really fast. "I'm stressed out, Alix, and I wish you were awake right now because… what would you say to me? What would you say? I guess I'll never find out, Al." Her breaths become quick and shallow, the way they do when she's trying not to cry. "Sometimes I think back to a day, before Molly was born, when we were in our moms' room. I clearly remember it. I hit you, and you didn't accept my apology until mama told you that you were the one who was in the wrong if you didn't accept it. And Alix, I was scared then, too. Scared to lose you. Ever since then, I've been secretly scared that when you accept my apologies, you just do it so that you're being the better person. I love you, Alix." She rolls over abruptly, and I let out a long sigh. I swing my legs over the edge of my bed and drop to the ground, walking across the room to her. I climb over her, snuggling into her. She relaxes slightly, resting the right side of her head against my forehead. I don't realize she's crying until some tears fall on my neck. I wipe them away, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"You don't need to be scared to talk to me, Rosie." I whisper after a few minutes, and Rose shakes a little as a sob escapes her. "You're my best friend, too, and you don't have to be so strong all the time. You can be scared, off all of those things, Rosie, and I won't think any less of you. Ever. You're my sister. Forever."

Rose doesn't respond, but her breathing slows down and the shaking stops, and she clings to me even as she falls asleep.

**Chloe POV-**

I walk to the doors of my children's rooms, starting with Molly. She's asleep, so I walk over and plant a soft kiss on her forehead. "I'm sorry, Molly." I whisper. I move to JJ's room, only to see his light still on. I push the door open. He's sitting on his bed with his back against the wall, glaring at me. I have no clue how long he's been sitting like that. "JJ…" I start hesitantly, but he shakes his head, the venom in his eyes cutting me off.

"You know I'll always love you, mama, but I really hate you right now." He tells me, his voice quiet enough so that the girls can't hear him, but loud enough that I can. Before I can start to respond, he cuts me off. "I mean, how could you do that to mom? What did she ever do to you but give you her heart? And you just… crush it?"

I sigh, walking towards him. I sit on his bed, far enough away from him that he doesn't move away. "I take it Rose told you? All of you?" JJ nods, his eyes slightly guarded. "JJ… I can't explain this to you guys, at least not until I explain it to your mom first. There is no excuse for what I've done, and I can only hope that your mom can give me another chance to show her how much I truly love her, but if her decision is to get a divorce… she has every right." I swallow harshly, fighting back tears. "And I'm sorry that you hate me right now, but I hope one day you could forgive me."

He tilts his head before nodding once slowly. "I hope so, too, mama. But if you guys do divorce, and we have the choice of who we live with, I want you to be prepared for me to choose mom. I'm not trying to be malicious… I just couldn't do that to her. She's done nothing wrong."

I nod, standing up. "I love you, JJ." I tell him and then I walk out of the room. I pace outside of Rose and Alix's room for about a half an hour, before finally pushing the door open. When my eyes adjust to the dark, the first thing I realize is that Alix's bed is empty, suddenly frightened, my gaze flicks to the window, only to see it shut firmly and locked. Moving my gaze to Rose's bed, my heart calms, only to pick up again as I register Alix's bright blue eyes staring back at me. My eyes. There's so much hurt and sadness in them that my heart breaks just a little bit. "How is she holding up?" I ask softly, trying not to wake Rose.

Alix smiles a little bit, albeit hesitantly. "She's strong." She responds, not really answering the question. I decide to let it slide. Alix swallows visibly and then says "Mama, you really messed up. But mom loves you and we all love you, even Rose." Tears well in my eyes and I shake my head.

"Your mom… I might've broken her this time, Lix." I tell her honestly, and she nods slowly.

"I know, mom. I know." With that, she rolls over and wraps her arms protectively around her twin, leaving me to walk back to my empty, Beca-less room.

**Okay, guys so maybe you all hate me for starting this off so depressively, but there's only so much fluff I can handle at one time, all right? So, yeah. I hope you all liked this. :) Please R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys. So I got a lot of feedback on the first chapter. Like, a lot. Like, there are thirteen reviews on one chapter which was more than I had on any chapter of TSWYLEI and not only that, but some were like paragraphs. And that made me happy. I understand that a lot of you are still trying to wrap your heads around Chloe cheating, and to be honest, I kind of am too. I'm glad that no one got too mad at me specifically and yelled at me. Oh, btw when Beca was talking about her dad cheating on her mom when she was ten, she was talking about her step-dad and her mom. Also, on the TSWYLEI update I just put for informing people of the sequel it cut off from: "Thanks to: gossipssweetlips, , and AlphonseAl for title suggestions." I promise I didn't leave you out, it just did it. :( Also, most of my inspiration for this story came from a scene I imagined between JJ and his moms. For those of you that are focusing on the fact that Chloe and Aubrey cheated with each other, I'm kinda dwelling on that too. I actually was almost going to change that, and take it out while I was writing the first chapter, but when I did it just didn't work as well. I hope you enjoy this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters from the movie. Shocker.**

**JJ POV-**

I sit up suddenly, blinking sleep out of my eyes. I relax when I realize that the sound I heard was just the annoying screech of Aunt Kaylie's car as she locks it. After a few seconds, I stiffen again. Why is my aunt here? Cursing, I jump out of bed, pulling on a pair of jeans I find on the floor and running downstairs, my hair a mess and my chest bare, wide awake. "JJ!" I hear Molly call. I spin towards the stairs, grabbing Molly's hand as she comes to a stop next to me. At 11, Molly has a higher maturity level than most people would think, but she's still a little girl. A sarcastic, stubborn tomboy of a little girl, but a little girl nonetheless. We turn to face the couches. Mama sits on one staring at the door. Alix and Rose sit on another, holding hands, which makes me roll my eyes. They're always attached in some way.

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. "Molly, go sit down." I order, releasing her hand. Molly looks hesitantly between the twins' couch and mama's couch, before finally deciding on the lone chair in the middle. I walk over to the door, swinging it open. I'm greeted by a sight I've never seen before: My mom, her eyes rimmed red, standing on the porch step with a devastated expression with my Aunt Kaylie, whose hand is resting on my mom's shoulder comfortingly. Without hesitating, I pull her into my arms. "I'm sorry, mom." I murmur, and she pats my back.

"I take it mama told you what happened?" She asks cautiously.

I shrug. "More like Rose figured it out and mama didn't deny it." I tell her, and she nods slowly.

Then she says the least predictable thing she could say. "Don't give mama a hard time about it. You guys don't need to get involved or try to pick sides, this is between me and mama. Alright?" She gives me a stern look when I don't answer, searching my eyes.

Sighing, I run my hand through my hair. "We kinda already gave her a hard time about it, and I've already picked a side." She doesn't respond, just looks at me sadly, so I add on. "Your side." I step back at that, moving to the chair that Molly's sitting on before she can respond. Mom and Aunt Kaylie move inside, and I watch mama flinch slightly at the withering look Kaylie gives her. "Alix was thinking that all of us kids could go to _Wild Waves_, give you guys some time to talk. But we don't have enough money."

My mom walks slightly farther inside, reaching inside her pocket and pulling out her wallet. She grabs a fifty dollar bill and hands it to me. "Make some food here and bring it with you in the car. Leave it in the trunk, and then go out when you're hungry. Eat it, and then go back in." She tells me.

I nod, shoving the bill in my pocket. "We don't need fifty bucks, mom." I tell her, but she shrugs.

"Use the rest of it to play games in booths or buy sodas or whatever." She supplies, and I nod again, slower this time.

"We won't be back for a while, so… you guys can talk while we're gone." I offer, looking at mama before turning my gaze back to mom. She smiles at me and nods. "Can we take the car?" I ask mama this, and she hesitates before nodding, tossing me the keys. "Thanks." We stand in awkward silence for a couple minutes before Alix clears her throat.

"Alright, Molly, go get changed and put shorts on over your swimming suit bottoms." She says, and then she tugs me and Rose into the kitchen. Her lips are pressed into a grim line. "Mom has been crying recently." She whispers, and I nod, frowning. She looks around the kitchen and frowns as her eyes come across our bread supply, which is at zero loaves and three packages of six bagels. "So, I take it we can't do sandwiches?" She asks, and I shrug.

"Do we have cream cheese?" Rose asks, and Alix flashes her an odd look before going to the fridge. She pulls some out, tossing it to her, and Rose smiles. "We can do sandwiches."

**Beca POV-**

Kaylie leaves at the same time that the kids do, leaving Chloe and I alone in our house. If it's even _our_ house anymore. We clear our throats at the same time, and Chloe finally looks at me instead of the floor. Our eyes lock, and then I rip my gaze away. "Beca," She sighs, standing up. I flinch at the sound of my name coming from her lips. Lips that were supposed to be mine, forever, but are not. Not anymore. She notices that flinch, and sucks in a deep breath as she sits beside me. Her knee brushes against mine, and it feels so right I could cry. In fact, tears well up in my eyes, tears she must notice. "Beca, baby, I'm so sorry." She whispers. "I'm so sorry."

I shake my head, fighting past the lump in my throat. "I don't want your apologies, Chloe." I try to make my voice come out cold and hard, but it sounds weak and fragile.

"Well I want to give them to you, Beca!" She shouts. I whip around to face her, still fighting the tears.

"Yeah, Chloe? You want me to care about what you want? You've gotten what you've wanted for the past six months, okay? Did you think about me then? Did you think about our kids? Did you think about Jesse? You didn't think about anything but what _you_ want." I'm yelling at the end, but my voice cracks as I say 'you', and the tears start to fall. I don't have the strength to push her away when she pulls me into her arms, instead burying my face in her neck as I cry. After about thirty five seconds of this, I shove my hands against her shoulders, pushing her away as I jump to my feet. "No." I whisper. "You don't get to comfort me."

She stands up, following me as I storm into the kitchen. I grab a glass cup and fill it with water, chugging it down without hesitation. She places her hand on my back, rubbing up and down, but I jerk away just as soon as my water is gone. "Beca, just let me explain, okay?" She's trying to be calm, but there's a desperate tone to her voice as it strains that hits home.

"Fine." I say weakly. "Just don't touch me." I turn around, yanking my eyes away from hers. Not fast enough, it seems, because I still see the flash of pain that my words caused. I fill up the cup with water again, and then we move back into the living room. I grab a pillow, putting my back against the left side of the couch, bringing my knees up. I wrap my arms around the pillow and place my chin on the top of it, staring at her as I wait for her explanation. I follow her eyebrow to her cheekbone, down her jawline to her chin, before sweeping my gaze past her lips and nose to her eyes once again. "Are you going to explain anytime soon?" I ask quietly, not in the mood to just stare at her anymore.

She sighs. "I'm kind of relishing in the fact that you aren't glaring at me like you hate me, right now." She admits.

I swallow, nodding a little bit. "I have every right to hate you." I inform her, and she nods. "It's expected for me to hate you, so you can't be mad if I do." I wait for her reaction. She doesn't make me wait long.

Tears gather in her eyes and she looks away, swallowing visibly. She takes a deep breath before she says "I know." We sit in silence for a while, Chloe's eyes searching mine while I reminisce and try to figure out where I went wrong.

Suddenly, I realize something. "I don't hate you, Chloe." Shock filters into the pain and regret in her eyes, a flicker of hope lighting up. "Honestly, the kind of love I feel doesn't go away overnight, no matter how much easier it would make this. So I don't hate you, Chlo, but I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive you. And I hate what you did." As my eyes flicker back up to hers, which are filled with regret yet again, I realize something else. "The truth sucks sometimes." I pause, clearing my throat. "Tell me why, Chloe. That's the least you could do."

She nods, blinking a couple times to get the tears under control, before she begins.

**Rose POV-**

Alix groans as we hear a preppy voice call out "JJ! Rose!" We all turn, including Molly, in time to see a skinny girl in a life guarding uniform come running at us. Or more specifically, at JJ. She jumps into his arms, and he kisses her. Alix rolls her eyes.

I, however, go for the verbal approach. "Eww, Casey, stop sticking your tongue down my little brother's throat!" She shrieks, and Casey pulls away from JJ with a laugh as he scowls.

Unsurprisingly, another girl follows behind Casey. Terra, her older sister. She's mine and Alix's age. "Nice to see you too, Rose." She jokes, pulling me into a hug. She hugs Molly, who greets her with an energetic smile. Then she turns to Alix and puts on a slightly pained smile, obviously forced. "Hey, Alix." She says and Alix nods curtly. I make a mental note to ask Alix what's going on between them later. We used to be like the three musketeers, girl version, but obviously something's wrong. "Where are your moms?" She asks, seeming genuinely interested.

None of us really know what to say, which is why I'm surprised as Alix bitterly says "Sitting somewhere in our house, debating the pros and cons of a divorce, I suppose." She says, her eyes hard.

"Woah, Alix, what's wrong?" I ask, placing my hand on her shoulder. She shakes her head, shrugging off my hand.

Shooting another glare at Terra, who averts her eyes, Alix shakes her head once again. "Nothing." And that's when we notice Molly.

Her eyes have gone wide, brimming with tears, her face pale as she stares at Alix in shock. "I don't want mommy and mama to get divorced." She whispers, and I watch regret come over her face.

"I didn't mean that, Moll. They'll be okay." She says, squatting slightly to bring herself eye level to Molly. Molly, obviously not about to believe her, starts to cry. Alix grabs Molly's shoulders, pulling her into a hug. "Hey, Molly, think about it." She says softly. "When have mama and mommy ever gotten into a fight that they haven't recovered from? That's right, never." She says, rubbing Molly's arms. "This won't be any different. I look at Terra and Casey. Casey is talking to JJ a little farther away, and he's obviously explaining everything. Just as I'm about to step forward to inform Terra about it, my gaze catches her face.

There's an odd fondness on her face, and at first I think it's directed at Molly, but then I realize that that's not how she looked at Molly earlier. Which means it can only be directed at Alix. She doesn't realize I'm watching her as Alix looks up, and their gazes meet. Alix's eyes show a mixture of suspicion, anger, and sadness, while Terra looks regretful and sad. Alix's eyes suddenly shoot to mine, and I raise one eyebrow. She blushes, her eyes darting back to Molly, and I look at Terra, who is now watching me almost nervously. I raise my eyebrow at her too, but she just shakes her head, looking away as she bites her lip. I roll my eyes, but before I can ask either of them about it, Casey's clapping her hands together. "Well, I've got to go back to my station. Terra, why don't you just hang out with the Mitchells for a bit while I run the next slide? You don't work here so you can't go."

Terra's eyes flicker towards Alix, barely, but then she nods. "Okay. You Mitchells aren't so bad, you know." She says, winking. I just roll my eyes again, and we move off to go into the wave pool, per Molly's request.

**Chloe POV-**

I watch her eyes as I begin, I watch the way she bites her lip. To keep from talking? Or because she's in pain? "We got into that fight, and I left." She nods slowly, her eyes becoming unfocused. "I went to Aubrey for comfort, because she's my best friend. Turns out she'd been fighting with Jesse, too, and he'd left. Later we found out it was to go talk to you." She nods again, not speaking. "We were drinking. A lot. And suddenly, Aubrey was saying that I was beautiful and that she loved me and then we kissed. And then… we slept together." Beca's eyes well up with tears, but I know I have to get it all out. I suck in a deep breath. "That first time, we were drunk." I admit. "Then the next couple times we were too. And then… we stopped drinking, and all we would do was either talk or sleep together or both."

Beca's breathing is ragged, and I bring my eyes to hers. I hadn't even noticed I'd looked down, or how long ago I had, but Beca's crying now. She nods at me, silently telling me to keep talking. "At first I didn't feel guilty, because I could hide behind the fact that I was drunk. But after the first time I wasn't drunk…" I trail off, shaking my head. "The guilt ate me alive, every time I saw you or Jesse. Every single time you told me you loved me, or when you kissed me." I'm whispering now, thinking back to the feeling of being punched in the gut every time I forced myself to kiss her back. "I forced myself to pretend like I was okay, I focused totally on making you believe it, and then I found myself going to Aubrey every time the guilt got too much. Maybe she had the same reasoning, maybe not, but she never turned me down. And every time I did it again, the guilt multiplied and I promised myself I'd never do it again. The last time was two days ago, Beca." She sucks in a breath, curling in on herself even further as she holds back sobs. The couch is shaking, and it's just then that I realize I'm not the only one shaking. "And I told myself that I needed to tell you, because otherwise I'd keep breaking this promise to myself. I'd keep breaking my promises to you and our kids. So Beca, I'm sorry. I love you with all of my heart, I swear to god I do, and Aubrey is my best friend. Nothing more. And I swear to you, I will never, ever, cheat on you again. Just give me another chance, Beca."

And then she speaks, her eyes burning into mine with a pain I can't handle. Not from her, not one I caused. "I can't." She breathes out raggedly, shaking her head. "I can't give you another chance, Chloe, I'm sorry."

I suck in short, shallow breaths. "Beca, please, I promise-."

She shakes her head. "I don't want any more of your promises. You made promises to me for eighteen years." She whispers. She manages to choke out her next words. "I want a divorce."

I freeze, my blood turning to ice in my veins. _Divorce. Divorce. Divorce._ I thought I was prepared for this, but I'm not. Suddenly, the prospect of a life without Beca in it horrifies me, so much so that I can't breathe. No Beca to wake up to, no Beca to kiss, no Beca to hold, no Beca to hold _me. _"Beca, baby, we can work this out, please just-."

"Just stop, Chloe." She whispers, dragging herself to her feet. "It's over. We'll talk to the kids about this when they get home, alright?" She doesn't answer, running away, up the stairs, and slamming shut a door. I can tell by how far away it is that it's not our bedroom. She's in the guest room. I pull myself to my feet, walking up to it and standing outside the door. I can hear her crying, her angry screams muffled into what I assume is a pillow. Crying as well, I drag myself to our room. I sift through our closet, grabbing a random of Beca's flannel shirts, clinging to it as I lay on her side of the bed. If I close my eyes and breathe in, it's almost as if she's lying here with me. Almost.

**Sorry there wasn't any Jesse or Aubrey in this chapter, they will be in the next chapter. Also in the next chapter (probably): Beca and Chloe talk to the kids, Terra or Alix will talk to Rose, Terra and Alix will talk to each other, and more. So that's good, right? Thanks. Here are review responses:**

**EagleHawk: Thanks so much! :)**

**wow: I will admit that you have a good point, and I appreciate your review because you were angry and you didn't like attack me, but I have plans, I swear. And no matter where I decide I'm going to go with this, I promise I'll try to make it as believable as possible. Thanks so much for your review, and I'm glad I did catch your attention.**

**Cookierhys10: I know, I kind of just jumped head in with that, didn't I? I do feel really bad for the kids and Jesse and Beca. No, Aubrey and Jesse don't have kids, I'll go into more of their relationship (as it was before the truth came out) in this next chapter. I hope you stick with it. :)**

**gossipssweetlips: First off, so I don't forget, thank you for the title. :) This was like emotional overload for me I just started writing and everyone was in pain and there were times when I was like 'nope, not doing this, I'll come up with something else.' But every time I tried to write it differently or change some things, I came back to this. You are right, Aubrey and Jesse do not have any kids. Beca got another reason, not sure if it's better…I'm glad you like it so far. :)**

**jodiem896: I'm glad you like it! I read your review for TSWYLEI and it made me super happy, so thanks for that one as well as this one. I'm not going to make any promises about which pairings will be endgame or not, because I don't want to give anything away. :) I hope you continue to enjoy it, though.**

**Fleurtjehu1: Thank you! :)**

**chloehuh: I know, I'm thoroughly depressed and I wrote it, so I could've changed it. Every time I tried to I came back to this, so I don't know. I have plans for this story, but if I forget them it could change completely. I hope you like this chapter. :) Love yah.**

**Guest-ey: I'm glad you like it. :)**

**Guest: Here you go, another chapter. :)**

**Guest: Thank you so much, that means a lot to me. :)**

**shakeyshay69: I will make her work for it, that I can promise. Thanks so much, I hope you continue to enjoy this. :)**

**Moxain: I'm really glad you like the kids, I'm gonna write a lot of this about them/their feelings on everything.**

**123a456e: I know, that's usually how I feel too. I'll try my best to make everyone happy by the end. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys. So… lots of feedback for the last chapter. Many of you are upset, which is totally understandable. I want to thank everyone for reviewing, and sticking with me. Here's the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything, nothing has changed since yesterday.**

**Rose POV-**

Terra drops down into the beach chair next to mine, picking up one of her towels and patting her hair dry. We watch Alix, JJ and Molly as they playfully splash each other in the now calm wave pool. After a few minutes of this, I decide it's time for me to confront Terra about Alix's hostility. "So, Terra, what's up with you and my sister?" I ask, a slight edge to my voice.

Terra turns and faces me, her expression wary. "Look, Rose, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

I roll my eyes, scoffing. "I haven't seen Alix that pissed off since Mike Tucker called me and you 'no good whores who slept with anybody who was willing' because we wouldn't sleep with him. Obviously something's up and it has to do with you. So just tell me." She stares at me, seemingly deliberating, before shaking her head and starting to stand up. I grab her wrist before she can, exclaiming "Seriously, Terra, just tell me! Whatever it is can't be that bad!"

Terra shakes her head. "You'd be surprised, Rose. Alix hates me now." She pauses before adding "You wanna know what happened so bad? Ask your sister." With that, Terra rips her wrist out of my grasp and walks off. She approaches Alix, saying something to her somewhat frantically and gesturing at me.

Alix sighs, nods, and starts to make her way to me. She plops down in the chair that Terra just vacated and scowls at me. "What's your problem, Rose?" She hisses angrily.

"What's my problem?" I repeat disbelievingly. Alix just rolls her eyes, nodding. "What's your problem, Alix? Why have you been acting so weird? Ever since Terra and Casey showed up you've been a bitch!"

I expect her retort to be angry and sarcastic, the way they always are when she's pissed. Instead, she sighs as her shoulders slump. "It's no big deal, Rose."

I'm hit with a sense of betrayal. "What are you hiding from me, Alix?" I ask, letting the hurt seep into my voice.

Alix sighs again and shakes her head. "If I could tell you, I would, believe me. But I can't."

"Why not? I whine, knowing I probably sound like a six year old.

Alix rolls her eyes. "You sound like a six year old baby." She informs me, and I roll my eyes as well. I'm used to Alix voicing my thoughts and vice versa. "Listen, I'll talk to Terra. If she's alright with you knowing what happened, I'll come tell you." With that, my twin sister gets to her feet and goes to talk to Terra.

**Alix POV-**

I sigh, tapping Terra on her shoulder. She turns and smiles hesitantly at me. "Did you tell her?" She asks.

I shake my head, looking behind her to make sure that JJ and Molly are out of hearing range. When I'm satisfied that they are, I turn my gaze back to her. "I wanted to make sure you are okay with me telling her."

Terra's eyes soften a little bit. "Of course. Alix..." She trails off, her eyes searching mine. "I miss you." She whispers, and it's almost as if she's afraid to admit it.

I swallow, blinking away tears that I don't want her to see. "Yeah, well, you made your choice." I whisper back and she visibly flinches. I bite my lip to keep from apologizing, and then I turn around, walking away. I hear her take in a sharp breath, but I keep walking until I reach Rose, who looks at me curiously as I take a deep breath and start to explain. "You have to promise not to get pissed and make a scene, Rose." Rose rolls her eyes at me.

"When do I ever get pissed and make scenes?" She asks, and I stare at her incredulously. She rolls her eyes again after a moment. "Okay, okay. I promise. No scenes and no anger."

I nod, taking a deep breath. "So… Terra and I…" I close my eyes, unable to look at her as I admit this. "Terra and I were dating." I breathe out, and peek a look at Rose through my eyelashes. Her eyes are wide, her mouth moving, no words coming out. She stares at me in shock for a few more minutes before she slowly nods.

"Since when?" She asks, looking afraid of the answer.

I take another deep breath, deciding to just get it out there. "We got together about a year and two months ago." I inform her, and her eyes get slightly angry, although the hurt outweighs the anger.

"What? You kept this from me for that long? Why?" She asks, an enraged whisper.

I swallow, looking away, towards Terra who is watching us nervously. I look away before our eyes can lock, focusing on JJ and Molly because I can't look at Rose. "Because Terra wasn't ready to come out to anyone, and I promised her I would wait until she was ready."

Rose stares at me, not talking until I look at her. "But if you guys are together than why are you being so… oh. You're not together?"

I swallow, looking at my feet as I shake my head. "No. She broke up with me a month and a half ago. We haven't talked since." Thinking about it is one thing, causing a sharp pain in my gut and my heart every time I do. Which is why I avoid thinking about the break up- or Terra, for that matter –as much as possible. Talking about it is about a hundred times worse, especially when Rose looks at me with that mixture of betrayal and pity. And seeing Terra? It's an onslaught of memories that I don't want to think about, all attacking me at once, causing me to lash out. After a few minutes of silence, I look up at Rose.

She gives me a small, sad smile. "Why'd she break up with you?" She asks cautiously.

I pause, swallowing yet again. "I…" I shrug, lifting my now watery gaze back to my sister's eyes. "She said everything was too much. And that she needed to do what she wanted." I blink, trying to get the tears to go down, but only succeeding in letting them fall.

"Oh, Alix." Rose whispers, pulling me into a hug. I shake my head against her shoulder, pulling away a little bit. "I'm sorry."

I don't realize I'm shaking until I hear a girl's voice behind me. "Is she alright? Why's she shaking?" Her tone is soft and concerned and I flinch, all too familiar with that voice.

"She'll be fine, Terra." Rose tells her, no doubt feeling me flinch as she tightens her arms. "Just as soon as she gets over you."

Terra lets out a deep breath. "Rose, I'm sorry-."

Rose cuts her off harshly. "I'm not the one you need to apologize to, Terra. You didn't break _my_ heart." She bends her head and whispers "I'm gonna go talk to JJ, alright? You guys should talk." She doesn't wait for my answer, instead slipping away from me and running into the water.

I turn and face Terra, wiping at my eyes and shaking my head. "You don't need to apologize to me, Terra. Rose is just overreacting. I'm fine." I tell her, not quite meeting her eyes.

"Alix." She says, her tone all too knowing. "You don't have to pretend that you're okay, if you're not."

I force my eyes to get hard before I meet her gaze. "See, that's the thing, Terra. I'm fine."

She sighs as I stand up. "Alix, can we just talk, please?"

I shake my head, stepping past her. "No, Terra. There's nothing left to talk about." I snap, and then I join my family in the pool, leaving her to follow me.

**o0o0o**

When we walk inside, both of our moms are sitting on opposite sides of the same couch. We came home early because it started pouring rain. The look in their eyes send us all sitting on the other couch. Molly and JJ sit in the middle, Rose and I on opposite sides beside them. I'm sitting next to Molly, so I grab her hand. She curls her legs up and leans her head on my shoulder as we stare at our moms. Mom speaks first. "Your mother and I are getting a divorce." She says, her tone soft. Immediately, Molly stiffens, and I tense, dread hitting me. I promised Molly they'd be okay. I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her into me. She's shaking now, and I look over her head at Rose, whose eyes are panicked. I hit JJ's shoulder, gesturing at her, and he nods, pulling her into a hug. After a few moments, JJ speaks.

"Mom." He whispers, his eyes wide. "You guys… can't. That's… you guys are the one couple that's going to be together forever." He pleads, and it's then that I realize I was the only one who actually prepared myself for this option. JJ thought he was, but he wasn't. He thought that he could handle whatever was thrown at him, but I don't think he actually considered that they might not be able to recover. And Rose… Rose is losing one of the only stable things she's ever had. "You guys love each other."

That strikes a nerve, for some reason reminding me of Terra, and I lash out. "Yeah, well. Love doesn't ever last, JJ. It's never enough." Both pairs of my mothers' eyes shoot to mine, disbelief and pain filtering their way through the shock. "Oh, don't pretend like I'm not saying the truth."

"Alix, I love your mom very much." Mama says, her eyes collecting tears from my cynicism.

My mom nods. "I love your mama very much too, we just don't work anymore." She says, her eyes desperately pleading with me.

I roll my eyes. "If you loved mom, mama, you wouldn't have cheated on her." My mama stares at me, her heart in her eyes, and I know I'm being mean, but I can't stop. "Oh, c'mon, we all know it's true. And mom, you didn't deserve to get cheated on. I mean that with all of me."

"Alix, don't you dare talk to your mother like that ever again." Mom growls harshly, her eyes flashing.

I whip towards her. "For real? You're really defending her after everything?"

"She's still your mother, Alix!" Mom shouts, jumping to her feet.

"Yeah, well so are you. And I don't take kindly to heart breakers." I growl. "I have to get out of here, I'll call you later." Without waiting for a response, I run out the door and run down the street, not quite sure where I'm going.

**Terra POV-**

I'm sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels when I hear a knock on the door. Figuring it's Casey, back from the Mitchells' house- where JJ had texted her to come –I roll my eyes. "Coming!" I shout. I wait a minute before going to the door, flinging it open, about to chew Casey out for forgetting to bring her key, and then I stop short. "Alix?" I ask incredulously. "What are you doing here?" She's shivering, rain running off of her in sheets, her eyes wide as she stares at me and tries to form words. Even soaking wet and obviously distraught, she's as beautiful as ever, and I feel a pang in my chest. "Never mind." I say, hesitantly pulling her inside. When my hands touch her shoulders, she begins to shake even harder. That's the only incentive I need to pull her into my arms, closing the door with my foot. She starts to cry, wrapping her arms around my waist as I wrap my arms around her neck. I pull her in tighter, secretly relishing being this close to her again. "It's okay." I whisper. "It's alright."

**o0o0o**

About thirty minutes later, she's sitting on my couch, dressed in some of my clothes while hers are in the dryer. They're a little big on her, her hair is up in a messy but adorable bun, and her eyes are red from crying. Despite all of that, she's still beautiful. She leans against the arm of one side of the couch, while I lean against the other, studying her. "So my mother cheated on my mom, and now they're getting a divorce." She finishes, summarizing everything she's said so far. I nod slowly, trying to process. Chloe cheated on Beca. That shocks me. Chloe and Beca are that couple, the one that everyone secretly looks at like 'why can't we be like that?', and now they're falling apart.

"Are you okay?" I ask, not sure what to expect.

I don't expect what I get. Alix's eyes fill up with tears and she shakes her head. "No." She whispers. "I'm not okay." I'm hit with the urge to pull her to me, and ignoring the promises I made myself concerning Alix and certain urges I'm hit with every time I see her, I do what I want. I lean over, pulling her gently towards me, letting her decide whether to move or not. To my surprise she doesn't fight me. Instead, she crawls towards me, looking younger than she ever has around me, curling up next to me. Her head rests on my collarbone and she sniffles as I try to control my breathing. "I'm scared, Terr." She admits, and it feels like my hearts breaking more than it already has.

"I'm sorry, Ali." I whisper, placing a kiss on her hair line. "You shouldn't have to go through this." She tenses slightly for a moment before snuggling in more with a sigh.

"I know." We sit in silence for a moment before she says, amusement in her tone, "I guess nicknames die hard, huh?" It takes me a moment to realize that she's right. We fell right back into calling each other by nicknames.

"Yeah." I agree, wrapping my arms around her. "I really am sorry."

"For what?" She asks, seemingly unaware that my heart beat and breathing grow faster every second she's close to me.

"Everything." I manage to breath out, my eyes filling up with tears. She tenses, and I know she can hear the tears in my voice. She's always been tuned to everything about me.

She sits up, pulling away so that she can look into my eyes. "Hey, what's wrong, Terra?" She whispers, and I shake my head as a tear spills. She wipes it away, and that's when I can't take it anymore.

"I screwed everything up for us." I tell her, my eyes searching hers. "I broke your heart and I ignored you every single time you tried to talk to me and-."

Alix rolls her eyes and cuts me off. "Shut up, Terra." She says, her voice soft enough to take the bite out of her words. "I forgive you." Her eyes, that light baby blue, are too close to mine for me to think. So without thinking, I lean forward and kiss her. My eyes are closed, but I feel her eyelashes flutter against my eyelids as she closes her eyes and leans into me. Her hands grip my shoulders tightly as I pull the hair tie out of her hair, letting it fall in curls around her shoulders. I hold onto her neck, relishing in the fact that she's kissing me back, until suddenly she's not. She jumps up and away from me, her eyes wide and her face pale as her hand goes to her throat. "Terr, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… please don't make me leave." She speaks frantically, her eyes wide, totally unlike herself. I stand up, holding out my hands.

"Hey, Alix, it's alright. I kissed you, not the other way around. I should be the one apologizing." I tell her, because no matter how much it hurts, that's the truth. I can't keep pulling her around like this. I sit down slowly, patting the spot right next to me. She sits down, fiddling with her fingers nervously. I put my hand over hers, and she raises her eyes to mine. I look into her vulnerable blue eyes, and I know then that I can't live without her. I can't live without us. "I miss you." I whisper, hoping she won't give me the same response she gave me at the water park.

She swallows, her heart in her eyes as she speaks. "I miss you, too." She admits. "But you broke up with me, Terra. What am I supposed to fucking do about it?" There's a flash of anger in her eyes, but it's gone as suddenly as it came, leaving only sadness and pain. It's a look I get from her a lot, these days.

"I was an idiot, Alix, and I didn't know what I wanted." She just stares at me, not answering, and I swallow past the lump in my throat. "I know what I want, now. I want you and me against the world. We can tell whoever you want to tell. I won't hide it anymore. I should've said it a month and a half ago, Alix, but I love you too." Fear flashes through her eyes, and I know she's remembering what happened the first and last time she told me she loved me. Her eyes are now unreadable, but I push through. I have nothing left to lose. "Give me a chance to prove it to you, Alix, and I won't let you go ever again."

Suddenly, before she can respond, there's a knock on the door, and Rose's voice is carrying through the door. "Terra? Is Alix here? She ran off and we're all scared and you're the only person I could think of that she might go to. Terra?" I sigh quietly. Today's the first time I've been seriously annoyed with the girl I consider to be my best friend (besides Alix) and it's happened twice.

I lean towards Alix. "Should I ignore her or…?"

She sighs. "Tell her I'm here." She says, avoiding my eyes, and I try to hide the fear inside of me. Fear that she'll say no to giving me another chance. Ignoring that feeling, I nod, steeling myself for Rose's anger as I open the door to greet her.

**Aubrey POV-**

I've been sitting for hours on the steps outside of our house waiting for him to come home. He pulls up in Kaylie's car, and I see her in the driver's seat. He jumps out, ignoring me as he goes around to the trunk and starts to pull out a duffle bag. He leaves the trunk open and walks towards me, his eyes cold and emotionless as he stares me down. "Get out of my way, Aubrey." He growls. I step to the side, taken aback. Jesse's never talked to me or looked at me like that. I follow him back to our bedroom, where he begins to stuff random clothes into the bag from his dresser. Once the bag is full, mostly of shirts, he moves back towards the front door. I follow him to the steps. He walks down, throwing the duffle into the trunk and pulling another one out. He walks past me again, repeating the process, this time with jeans. When it becomes apparent that he's not going to speak to me anymore, I decide it's time for me to.

"Jesse, please. Can we just talk about this?" I plead, trying to cut him off from the front door. He scoffs, pushing past me and throwing his fifth duffle bag into the trunk. I never realized how much clothing he has, but that's irrelevant.

"No, Aubrey, we can't." He grunts as he walks in with another bag. "You had your chance to be able to talk to me, and you threw it away to fuck your best friend." He shouts.

"Jesse, just let me explain, we can-."

"There is no we, Aubrey, there's you and there's me. There will be no us, no we, no ours. And I don't want your excuses." He growls, leaving me speechless. It doesn't last long, though.

"Jess, please, I love you!" I shout.

He spins around, his semi-calm façade crumbling. "No! You don't love me!" He yells, and now he's grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "If you loved me you wouldn't have looked at anyone else or acted on an attraction to your best friend, who happens to also be married. I sure as hell didn't look at anyone!"

"Jesse, I do love you!" I shout, and that's when I notice he's crying.

"You don't." He whispers. "You don't love me and Chloe doesn't love Beca, but obviously you must love each other." With that, he shoves past me and throws his last duffle into the trunk of Kaylie's car, slamming it shut. He turns and walks up to me, wiping away tears. "Once I fill out the divorce papers, I'll give them to you. Anything you don't agree with, we can discuss, and if we don't come to an agreement we can go to court. Okay?"

"Jesse, please just-."

He silences me, glaring as he speaks in a clipped tone. "Do you agree or not?"

"Fine." I whisper. I can't even bring myself to be mad as he throws the passenger door open, climbing in and slamming the door shut again. Kaylie drives off without hesitating, and they leave me behind in the wakes of devastation. A devastation that Chloe and I brought upon ourselves.

**Alix POV-**

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Terra wants to be with me when she comes back in with Rose. My twin sister wraps her arms around me, sighing in relief. She pulls back, studying me curiously. "Why are you wearing Terra's clothes?" I look down at the oversized T-shirt that I'm wearing, pulled back and up and tied with a hair tie, resting above my belly button, and the pair of sweats that hang loosely on my hips.

"Mine are in the wash." I say simply. "I ran here in the rain, so my clothes are in the dryer." Rose nods before walking back to the laundry room.

Terra sits down beside me. "Alix, will you give me another chance?" She whispers, low enough that Rose can't hear her. I shiver as her breath hits my neck, and then I kiss her, forgetting totally about my sister. I'd made my decision the second she asked.

Forgetting about her, that is, until suddenly she's, back clearing her throat. We break apart, blushing, and Rose rolls her eyes. "I take it you guys are back together?" When I nod, Rose makes a less than satisfied sound before finally saying "Alright, but Terra, if you break her heart again I'll kill you." She says calmly.

I laugh, but Terra intertwines our fingers with a determined expression on her face. "I won't hurt her, Rose." She promises. Rose clucks her tongue but seems satisfied as she informs me that she's going home to inform our parents that I'm okay. After she leaves, Terra pulls me back into her. "I love you." She whispers, her fingers tracing patterns on the bare skin of my stomach. I shiver, burrowing closer to her as memories hit me like a tidal wave.

"_Hey, baby." Terra says, grinning at me. I laugh, kissing her softly._

"_Why are you so cheery today?" I ask, and she giggles, shrugging as she closes the window behind me. She tugs me onto the bed and we lay there, holding each other for close to an hour. After another moment, she kisses me. I pull away after a few minutes, kissing her nose. "I love you." I whisper, feeling confident. That confidence is shattered as she tenses._

"_What?" She whispers, her tone harsh and disbelieving._

_Hoping that maybe she'd heard me wrong, I repeat it. "I love you."_

_She pulls out of my arms, shaking her head. "No, you don't." She whispers, shaking her head. "You can't."_

_I shake my head, trying to pull her back to me as I say "Yes, Terra, I love you." She bats my arms away, pulling the window open._

"_No. You can't." She whispers, her eyes cold. "Say you don't."_

"_I can't lie to you, Terra." I tell her, desperately hoping she'll believe me and change her mind._

"_You need to go." She says, her voice hard. "Now." When I start to protest, she cuts me off. "Go, Alix, before I start to scream." I don't even have the strength to glare at her as I climb out the window, gripping a branch on the tree beside her room, swinging roughly into the trunk in my haste to get away. I climb down, ignoring the bark that's cutting into my hands and arms, and heave a sigh of relief when I reach the ground. Forcing myself not to look back, I run home. I grab the ladder that's around the back of the house, lining it up with my window. I climb up quickly, carelessly, and the ladder creaks, swinging to the side, cursing, I grab the window sill and hook my feet around the ladder rungs, stabilizing it. I let out a deep breath as it doesn't fall, and then I push the window open. Sliding in, I keep a grip on the rope I have tied to the top rung. Checking to make sure that Rose is asleep, I begin to pull the long rope up. Once I have all of it, I start to inch the ladder down. After about ten minutes of this, making sure that I'm silent, I hear footsteps in the hall, heading towards the room. Cursing, I pick up the pace, finally letting the ladder fall with a small thud, sliding the window closed as fast as I can without slamming it shut. I race to my closet, slipping inside just as the door opens. I catch a glimpse of my mama's red hair as she scans the room, standing there for a minute before she closes the door and her footsteps fade. I let out a sigh of relief, walking out of the closet. I sit on the floor next to my bed for about twenty minutes before rushing into the bathroom and washing the cuts on my arms. They're shallow, nothing to worry about. They're also nowhere near as painful as the figurative knife wound to my heart, left behind by Terra._

Snapping back to the present, I sigh as Terra kisses the top of my head. "I love you, too, Terr." I tell her, and I feel some of the tension leave her. I think I hear her mumble something, but I'm too tired to figure out what it is as I fall asleep.

**So… I don't even know what this chapter was, I think it was basically a big filler chapter but I felt like I needed to include everything in this chapter for various reasons, and Terra and Alix are now, like, my favorite couple in this story, so… yeah. There will be a lot more on Beca and Chloe (it is a Bechloe story) and more on Jesse and Aubrey, but there's also going to be a lot that focuses on the kids. Sorry if that will bug anyone. So reviews:**

**Lizzethhhh: I know, this is hurting me as much as it's hurting you, I swear. And yeah I know, two days, but everything happens for a reason, I promise.**

**hollymariec0mbs: Aw, don't cry! And please don't die! Thanks for the compliment to my writing and I kinda hate myself for this too, don't worry. :)**

**gossipssweetlips: Thank you! So, I think I explained what happened with Terra and Alix well, but if I didn't please tell me. Yeah, Beca wanting the divorce is like the only thing in that chapter that I was completely unwilling to change. There will be more of Jesse and Beca comforting each other. :) **

**BardenBellaBeca: I know, I know. I'm just like torturing you guys, but I swear I don't mean to. :) I hope you enjoy it anyways.**

**Sparklingblue: Thanks so much!**

**Cookierhys10: Don't cry! I feel so bad when people cry because of me! I love the name Terra, too. At first I was going to name her Tierra, but when I was editing stuff I was like 'nope, doesn't fit.' And I changed it.**

**Moxain: I'm not trying to, I swear! It just happens! :(**

**shakeyshay69: Why, thank you. Based on this review, you and I think alike, because that's basically my thoughts on last chapter, give or take. :)**

**becaachloe: I know I was almost crying at the end while I was writing and I almost took that out, actually, but then I couldn't bring myself to delete it. I hope you continue to enjoy it. :)**

**wow: I know, alcohol really isn't a legitimate excuse for anything, really. Chloe needs to and will reevaluate who she is, I plan on that. Also, Jesse and Beca will (hopefully) keep their dignity and all that.**

**Guest: I'm really glad that you can't stop reading it, because it would make me sad if you did. I'm sorry it's so sad, I promise it will get happier at some point.**

**123a456e: I know, Beca's falling apart and it's painful to write.**

**chloehuh: I kind of hated that chapter and loved it, so I'm kind of in the same boat. :)**

**Guest-ey: I will try my best to update every day, but sometimes I just get too tired to find any inspiration. I'm glad you like it so much! 'Love from Switzerland' omg. I was bragging to my brother about that. :)**

**cburton1995: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to demolish your heart, I'll try to help pick up those pieces.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys. Sorry for the long wait, I wrote this chapter on my phone, worked on it for two days, and then it got erased, so now I had to rewrite it. And I'm not going to blabber this chapter, I'm kind of tired.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pitch Perfect or any characters from the movie. I own this story and my own characters that I created.**

**Chloe POV-**

The moment the door slammed behind Alix, the room erupted into chaos. Rose jumped to her feet, Molly started to cry, and JJ grabbed Rose's arm to keep her from running after Alix. After a couple of minutes everyone calms down slightly and we manage to sit down, Molly running upstairs and slamming a door. Beca sighs, wringing her hands together, looking tired and angry, but not hurt. "Rose, she'll come back, just give her some time." Rose sits down with a huff, rolling her eyes.

After an hour, Beca concedes to let Rose go find her, tossing her the keys. "She doesn't have to come back if she doesn't want to, not yet. But when she does, we're going to talk as a family about what this will mean for all of us." Rose doesn't bother with responding, only runs out and slams the door behind her. Not long after, there's a loud knock on the door. I watch with curiosity as Beca opens the door, her whole body tensing as she sees who it is. The door blocks my view of the person, but Beca's tone is cold and hard. "What are you doing here?" The person, who has a decidedly feminine voice, gets out only a few words before Beca's hand is flying, creating a smacking sound as it connects with what I can only assume is the girl's face. "Leave." The woman responds, and Beca's hands fist, but she turns towards me. "Chloe," She gets out the gritted teeth, "You have a visitor."

I freeze, dread forming as a ball in my stomach as I wrack my brain for people that would cause that type of reaction from Beca. And right now? The only person I can think of is someone I really don't want to see, but I guess my karma is catching up to me because she walks around the door, sending me a sheepish smile. "Aubrey." I breathe out, and Beca's eyes narrow, her jaw clenching.

Before anyone can say anything, JJ's jumping to his feet again, looking bewildered. "Mom, did you just smack Aunt Bree?" A muscle in Beca's jaw jumps as she nods, her eyes unreadable. JJ's eyes narrow and he stares at me and my (ex?) best friend. "You… you're the person. You're who my mom got cheated on with?" When Aubrey nods JJ runs his hands through his hair. "What is wrong with you two? You're both supposed to love her and support her and not cheat on your partners and-." He breaks off, his eyes getting impossibly wider. "Uncle Jesse. Where is Uncle Jesse? Does he know about this?"

Beca walks over to him, but he pushes her arms away. "No. Do you guys even know what you've done? You've torn apart a whole string of relationships! And for what? Attraction in meaningless flings that both of you know couldn't have gone anywhere? Did you think about any of us? About Molly, upstairs crying, about Rose, out trying to find her sister? About Alix, who ran off because she can't handle her stability crumbling? Or my mom or my uncle? What do you think they're feeling?" He turns solely towards me. "Can you even see how devastated my mom is right now? Or do you just see her mask? Do you even want to see her? She's going out of her mind, and no one cares. Well, guess what, mama? I care, and I hate you for what you've done. Both of you." He spits, sending a glare at Aubrey. He doesn't bother to wait for our responses, instead running upstairs.

Beca sighs, running a hand over her face, about to speak as the door opens and Rose waves hurriedly at Aubrey before running upstairs. "I'll talk to them, calm them down." She says, sounding resigned, and it's then that I realize how emotional she is. Her eyes are puffy from crying, her lips in an ever-present frown, her eyes downcast.

"Beca, are you okay?" I ask, and she just shakes her head.

"C'mon, Chlo, it's not like you actually care. It's not your job to pretend anymore." With that, she walks quietly up the stairs, leaving me in tears.

"Aubrey, what have we done?" I ask, turning to her, tears spilling. She shakes her head, wiping one away.

"I don't know, Chlo." She tells me, hugging me to her. "I honestly don't know."

**Alix POV-**

Terra kisses right underneath my ear, pulling me closer as she whispers "I missed you, so much, Ali." I giggle, wrapping my arms around her.

"I missed you, too." I sigh, pulling away. "But I think I should get home." She nods, looking slightly disappointed, but I kiss her nose. "You can come with if you want to." I offer and the way her eyes light up makes me grin like crazy. "I'll take that as a yes." I quickly change in the laundry room, laughing as Terra practically drags me to her car, singing along to every song on the radio, even if she has no idea what it is and just mumbles along.

When we reach my house, I walk in hesitantly. My mama and Aunt Aubrey are discussing something on the couch. "Mama, can Terra stay the night?"

She sighs, waving her hand towards the stairs. "It's fine with me, but check with your mom first." We walk past her, only acknowledging her with a nod as I drag Terra behind me, upstairs to my room. When we get there, I find my mom, JJ, Rose, and Molly, all piled on Rose's bed.

Terra grips my hand reassuringly as I ask "Mom, can Terra spend the night?"

"That depends," My mom drawls, a small smile playing at her lips. "Are you going to tell me what's going on between you two?"

My eyes shoot frantically to Rose, but she holds out her hands, looking just as confused as me. Terra, however, doesn't hesitate for a moment. Instead, her arms wrap around my waist, her chin landing on my shoulder. "We're dating." She announces, and JJ's reaction is priceless. He opens his mouth as if to speak, closes it, tilts his head, opens his mouth again, shakes his head, looks at Rose, looks at my mom, looks at me, looks at Terra, shakes his head again, and then he manages to speak a word.

"What?" He asks, but it comes out as a high pitched squeak. He blushes, flicking his hair out of his face. "I mean, that's great, and I don't mind it at all, but I just didn't… how did I not see that coming?" He groans, burying his face in his hands. "All the flirting, and the looks, and the little touches and- how?"

Terra laughs, shaking my body with hers, kissing my neck. "I don't know, JJ, I really don't." She laughs, before pulling me onto my bed. She settles her back against the wall and pulls me to a spot between her legs, resting my head against her collarbone. I sigh as her hands run through my hair. My mom opens her mouth to make a smug comment to me, but she's interrupted by the doorbell. She sighs.

"Who in the world could that be?" She mutters. "We never get this much attention." We all scramble downstairs, my hand still clutching Terra's, and watch the group of people who storm in angrily.

Uncle Jesse, Aunt Kaylie, Aunt Cassidy, Jamie, Elizabeth, and Xavier. They all file in, creating a semi-circle around my mama and Aunt Aubrey, who suddenly look sad and terrified. Xavier, Elizabeth and Jamie all step forward crossing their arms at the exact same time. In any other situation, it would've been comical. Instead, it's terrifying and confusing, especially when Jamie starts to yell. "Chloe, you promised me!" Her eyes get wide, filling with tears as she stares at this man who adored her. "You promised me as a little boy that you wouldn't hurt my best friend, my protector. You promised. I hate you, and you'll never be a part of my family again. My cousins are hurting right now, seeing as their parents are divorcing over something this avoidable." He spins on Aunt Aubrey, his eyes flashing, pointing his finger in her face. "And you had one of the best men I've ever known, you had him wrapped around your little finger, and you just threw that away. You threw _him_ away. You threw away everything. Both of you did, and I can't believe you would do that to them." With that, he turns around. He crushes my mom into his arms, and she rubs his back soothingly, whispering something in his ear. He shakes his head, pulling away and giving my mama one last glare, before throwing the door open, storming out, and slamming the door behind him. Elizabeth shakes her head, sighing.

"Everything Jamie said? I feel the same way. I can't believe you two have been hooking up for six months behind everyone's backs. I can't even wrap my head around you two. You deserve each other." She walks out just as quickly as Jamie, albeit calmer.

Xavier just stares at my mama. In a quiet tone, he says "You know, I've cheated on people before." He admits. "And I hate myself for it. Because that feeling that they get? It's not worth whatever cheap one night stand. What I don't understand, Chloe- and Aubrey, for that matter –is why you would continue it for six months. I mean, if you wanted to be together, that still doesn't condone what you did. But why didn't you just spare the pain for everyone? Just let Beca and Jesse get over it normally? Their wives falling in love with each other would be a low blow, but it would've been better than false security." He pauses, studying them for a minute before shaking his head. "No. You aren't in love with each other. You were just hooking up. Sure, you love each other, but you aren't in love. So why would you keep on cheating? Were you just looking for a way out without admitting that you just didn't love Beca anymore?" My mother shoots to her feet then, her tears spilling as she shakes her head, her face deathly white.

"No." She chokes out. "No, I love Beca." She says, her eyes pleading for us to believe her. Her eyes scan over everyone, finally resting on my mom. "I love her with all of my heart. And I love my children. Aubrey and I… we were a mistake. A mistake I will never make again. Beca, please. I love you. Don't run away from this, from us. We can work this out." My mom just shakes her head, only allowing a few tears to spill.

Xavier starts to talk again. "Sit down, Chloe. She's not going to hear you out, not until we've all talked to you. We all have something to say." She listens to him almost instantaneously, sniffing as she rubs tears away. "I've known you since I was four years old, almost my whole life. I thought I knew who you were. You taught me many things, Chloe, the most prominent of which are loyalty, integrity, honesty, and love. Where were those things for these last six months, Chloe? Because I don't see them, in this woman sitting in front of me. This isn't you. The you we all knew would never have done this. So you need to figure this out, before you can fix any bonds you've broken. Who are you? What are your morals? Because if you can't figure it out, no one can." With that, he walks out, after his siblings, sending my mom a small smile. Chloe sniffs, rubbing at her eyes. I don't realize that I'm crying as well, until Terra pulls me into her arms and kisses the top of my head, rubbing her hands on my back as she whispers to me.

"Don't cry, Alix, I'm here. I'm not going, I swear." After a couple seconds, I turn to see Aunt Cassidy standing in front of my mother.

She looks furious, so she takes a deep breath, and then she starts to speak.

**Terra POV-**

Everyone is stunned into silence as Cassidy begins to shout, something she's never done in front of any of us, and in all the years I've been a part of this family, nothing's surprised me more, especially when she actually gets into the grit of her speech. "What the hell is wrong with you? You've torn apart a whole family! _Your _family. Look at your kids, the same kids you claim to love. Do they seem happy? No! Alix is over there crying, JJ's furious, Molly's gonna be scarred for life, and Rose is pretending to be fine. Nothing's okay anymore! You royally fucked up, Beale, and you promised. Not only did you promise Jamie, you promised me. And I don't take promises lightly, Chloe." Her voice lowers and she says calmly, with an undertone of fury, four words that make all of us freeze. "I let you have her." She growls, and Chloe flinches. "She chose you, but I didn't put up a fight. I let you take away the one good thing left in my life, my light, the love of my life, because I thought you'd make her happy. I let her go, Chloe Beale, for you! And what do you do? You treat her heart like it's a fucking baseball, taking a bat to it. Well, guess what, Chloe? She's not a fucking baseball, she's a priceless glass vase, and you shattered her into pieces. I made that mistake once, thinking she was strong, but she's not as strong as you seem to think she is." Cassidy's voice is raising, but I'm registering her words late, still caught up on the words 'love of my life'. Cassidy and Beca were together? Beca's watching Cassidy as she talks, her face an open look of surprise and genuine curiosity. She doesn't look upset, so Cass must not be lying. "You'll think that you can get over her, Chloe, but you can't. God knows I've tried. But once Beca Mitchell carves out a place for herself in your heart, no one and nothing will ever take that place. You're going to be like me, in love with the one person you can't have, watching. Watching and breaking, knowing that she's not yours anymore. She's going to move on from you, Chloe. Can't you see? She'll fall in love again, with someone so different from us. Someone who will mend her heartbreak and show her that it's okay. Eighteen years of undying love, Chloe, and you threw it away. You threw it all away and you have no one to blame but yourself. You let go of this beautiful, amazing, loyal, fucking heartbreakingly perfect girl that you supposedly love. If you loved her, you wouldn't have done that. If you loved her, you would've held her close and never let her go. And if you love her now, you need to let her go. She needs a healthy relationship, and you can't be that for her anymore. She can never trust you again." She turns to Aubrey, seeing as Chloe is sobbing now. "And you. Jesse's the kindest man I've ever met. He's the most romantic person ever, and he gave all of himself to you. Whatever was going through your heads…? I can't even imagine. Lizzie put it best. You two deserve each other." She storms out, not bothering to close the door, but what surprises me is Beca.

She starts to run towards the door, after Cassidy, but Jesse and Kaylie hold her off. "Cassidy, wait!" She shouts, struggling against them.

"Beca, the last thing she needs right now is you to go out there and look at her pityingly, asking if she's alright. She doesn't want to see you right now, not after she told you what she's bottled up inside for years." Beca keeps thrashing against them.

"You don't know that!" She shouts, and I've never seen her so distraught, tears streaming down her cheeks. "She's my best friend! I have to tell her I'm sorry, I have to let her know that I'm not mad! How the hell would you know what she wants, Kaylie?" The saddened look in Kaylie's eyes answers the question, and I catch on just as Beca does, if the betrayal that hits her expression is anything to go by. "You knew?" She yells, trying even harder to rip her arms away. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Kaylie's eyes are sad as Jesse grabs both of Beca's arms and pulls her into a tight hold. "She just wanted you to be happy, Beca. You knowing that she's still in love with you would've just made it harder. She wanted you happy."

Beca slumps against Jesse, finally giving up, and her voice breaks as she asks "What about her?" It's the first time I've seen Beca truly break down, and I know it's not just Cassidy's revelation. That's one of the reasons, but I know that everything is catching up to Beca and every truth she's known is falling apart. As I watch her collapse into her sister's arms, I'm hit with the urge to hold on to Alix forever. I turn to her, and she manages a small, teary smile at me.

She hugs me, resting her forehead against mine, our lips inches away as she whispers "My family is falling apart."

I frown at her, cutting through the rest of the space between us, pressing my lips to hers softly. When we pull apart, I pull her chin up so she's looking into my eyes. "I'll be your family. Forever." I tell her and I can tell by her eyes that she understands that this is a promise.

Instead of rejecting it like I expected her to, she instead offers me a small smile. "And I'll be yours."

**Chloe POV-**

All of their words run through my head, Cassidy's sticking the most. _You'll think that you can get over her, Chloe, but you can't. God knows I've tried. But once Beca Mitchell carves out a place for herself in your heart, no one and nothing will ever take that place. You're going to be like me, in love with the one person you can't have, watching. Watching and breaking, knowing that she's not yours anymore. She's going to move on from you, Chloe. Can't you see? _Every word was like a punch to the gut, especially because I know they're true. _You two deserve each other._ Tears are still streaming down my face as Beca tries to run after Cassidy, finally breaking down in Kaylie's arms. I turn my head to see Terra and Alix locked in a kiss, pulling away and smiling at each other, their foreheads pressed together. I'm stunned into silence, not in a million years expecting that, but then I see the small bubble of happiness in the mess I've created. It causes a small smile to tinge my lips, one that quickly fades as I look back at Kaylie and Jesse. Jesse just shakes his head at me, walking out without a word. Aubrey jumps up and I let her go, not feeling motivated enough to stop her. She runs after him, grabbing his wrist just as he walks through the door. I don't pay attention to them, seeing as Kaylie is glaring at me, stalking over. "This is _your_ fault." She hisses, and then she strikes me. My head turns with the slap, and my neck whiplashes as I turn to stare at her incredulously. "You don't understand just how lucky you were, Chloe, but you will. And when you do, there will be no one left to comfort you because you chose this. You chose this, Chloe, and none of us had the chance to choose anything else, because you were selfish. You bitch, you broke my sister." Before I can respond, Kaylie's out the door too, leaving all of us as the car tears out of the driveway. Aubrey walks in, tears streaking down her face.

"I'm just going to go, Chloe. I don't… we can't be friends anymore… I can't handle the reminder of what I've done. I'm sorry." She turns to leave, pausing with her hand on the door. She turns her head towards Beca and my kids, including Terra, who I've always thought of as mine. "I can't tell you how sorry I am, Beca. And all of you kids, you didn't deserve this. I'm sorry and I know your mama is too, and I just. Please. Please, I need you guys to find it within yourselves to forgive her." With that, she turns, leaves, and her car pulls out of the driveway soon after.

Beca turns to the kids. "Guys, you all need to go get some sleep, alright? I'm going to go sleep over at Kaylie's. I'll be back tomorrow morning for all of us to discuss everything. Terra, thank you for coming over, feel free to stay over." She moves over to them. She brushes aside JJ's bangs, placing a terse kiss on his forehead. Unlike lately, when he usually pulls away with a scowl, he leans into it, hugging her. "Goodnight, kiddo." She turns to Molly, picking up the short eleven year old because she's so tiny planting a kiss on her forehead too. Molly, however, wraps her arms around Beca's neck and clings, whispering tiny pleas into her mom's neck, the sight breaking my heart. "I'm not leaving you, Moll." Beca promises, her voice breaking slightly. "I wouldn't ever do that. I love you guys." She barely gets Molly to the ground before Rose is flinging herself into her mom's arms, burying her face in her neck as she cries. "Rosy, I'm not going anywhere long, sweetie. I'll be back in the morning, but for now you need to get some sleep." Beca kisses Rose's cheek before hesitantly taking Alix from Terra, who smiles reassuringly. Beca murmurs something into Alix's ear, and Alix nods, swallowing as she pulls away from her mom's hug. "I'll be back, Alix. I'm not going to run out on you guys, I know how that feels. Don't worry, just focus on Terra. She makes you happy, that's all that matters." Then she turns to Terra, who smiles brightly at her. "Just, uh, take care of my little girl while I'm gone tonight, alright? She needs you, Terra, and both of you need your love. So… don't let it go, alright? You've got something good." Terra smiles again, through her new tears, and she nods.

"Of course." She rolls her eyes, then, and pulls Beca into a hug. "See you later, mommy B. That's your new name, by the way." Beca laughs genuinely, and when I see Terra's satisfied smile, I know that's what her goal was. Before I can say anything, though, Beca is at the door.

"I love you all!" She calls, and then she's gone, leaving before I can think to ask if that includes me. Although something tells me that I won't like the answer.

**Aubrey POV-**

I don't know what I expect as I run after Jesse, grabbing his arm before he can get into the car with everyone else. "Jesse, wait. I love you, can we just try to fix this?" He shakes his head, running his hands through his hair as he lets out a frustrated growl.

"You chose this, Aubrey. You and Chloe chose this. I didn't choose this. You think I wanted this? You think I want this? You think I want to walk away from the girl I love when she's in pain?" My breath hitches at 'love' and his eyes darken, storm clouds brewing in them. "But you don't get it, Aubrey, do you? I'm in pain too! And you could've avoided this! You could've said no. You could've pushed her away. There are a million different things you could've done, but you did what you did. So no, we can't fix this, Aubrey, I'm sorry. We're never going to be able to fix this." He gestures between us, and then Kaylie comes running out.

"Get away from him, Aubrey, you've done enough. And stay away from my sister." Before I can respond, they're both in the car, driving away.

"I'm sorry." I whisper, knowing they can't hear me as my words are carried away by the wind and Jesse is speeding out of my life.

**Beca POV-**

When I get to her house, I knock on the door repeatedly, not giving up until she opens the door, an exasperated "What?" falling from her lips before she falls silent, her eyes widening. "Beca?" She asks, and her voice wobbles unsteadily for a minute before cracking. "W-what are you doing here?" She asks nervously, biting down on her lip, and I throw myself at her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry." I whisper brokenly into her hair, and her arms weave around my waist as she lets out a sigh, pulling me closer. "I'm so sorry, Cass, I'm so sorry."

Surprisingly, she chuckles into my hair. "C'mon, Beca. What are you sorry for? You didn't know, there was no way you could've known." She plants a kiss onto my temple and pulls me inside, locking the door behind us. "I'm guessing you need a place to crash?" She assumes, and I nod.

"Uh, yeah. I didn't want everyone to look at me pityingly, and I needed to come to someone that cares and I needed to talk to you and tell you-." My voice cracks and I break off, swallowing back tears. "I needed to t-tell you that I don't mind that you're in love with me, it won't make this awkward, and I won't lose you. And t-that I love you, too, I just, Cass, I can't. I can't-."

She cuts me off, raising her hand. "Beca." She says softly, her eyes watery now. "I hate that you're in so much pain, and I just want you happy. That's all I want, that's all I need. So we'll do whatever you want to do." Before I can stop to think about it, I launch myself at her and kiss her. To her credit, she only hesitates a moment before kissing me back, a war of hands and tongues and teeth as her hands wind through my hair and my own circle her waist. I push her back against the wall, somehow managing to lose myself in her, and that's when she puts her hands on my shoulders and tugs me impossibly closer. And suddenly she's shoving me away, her eyes wide as she wraps her arms around her stomach and I go stumbling back, barely managing to catch myself as she starts to cry. "You don't want this, Beca, you don't want me. You just want to forget about her, to hurt her, and I can't be your rebound. I can't, Beca, it'll break me. Please don't be mad, Beca, but I can't be with you when it won't mean anything to you in the morning." She's sobbing now, and I pull her into my arms, shushing her as I berate myself. _What the hell were you thinking, Mitchell? You know how she feels about you, you shouldn't have done anything._

"I'm sorry, Cass, I don't know why I did that. I know. I know you can't do this. I don't want you to. I don't want you to be my rebound either. Maybe… maybe someday later, when I'm over Chloe, maybe then… maybe." I ramble, planting kisses on the crown of her head.

She smiles half-heartedly through the tears. "That's a nice thought, Becs, but she's the one. She's the one for you, and both of us know it. If you aren't going to end up with her, you aren't going to end up with anyone. I'll always feel like I was the second choice, the backup, because that's what I'd be. I had my chance, and I blew it. I'll be alright, Becs." She curls into my side, shushing me every single time I try to speak, until finally I give up and hold my best friend until we fall asleep, wondering how I ever got so lucky.

**So… that was it, guys. Some things (like Jamie's and JJ's angry rants) I liked better in my original, but what can you do? Overall, I think this is the better version, though. So, that's good. Again, sorry for my lack of updates (especially because I updated every day before that big chunk of not updating), my life got a bit overwhelming. (Physical Therapy, staying home sick, working on a social media project for my English class, writer's block, fighting with my brother, arguing with my sister who is my favorite person in the world, counseling, and more.) That's how cool my life is, huh? Yeah… I hope you guys will stick with the story anyways. So without further ado, here are the reviews. Don't forget to R&R!**

**hollymariec0mbs: Yes, Bechloe feels are definitely a thing. :) And I hadn't really thought of a ship name for Alix and Terra, but I'm definitely good with Talix, it fits.**

**gossipssweetlips: I was actually originally going to have Casey (JJ's girlfriend) and Alix have something going on, but I didn't feel like the drama of a sibling-rivalry love triangle thingy would fit, so I made Terra, and I like that better. I needed Jesse to be mad, because I feel like he needs to break Aubrey's heart like she broke his if they're ever going to move forward in anyway. I know, Aubrey and Chloe have no legitimate reasons. I hope you enjoyed this update, too.**

**Lizzethhhh: I promise if they don't end up together I will make Chloe live with the guilt forever on, lol. Yeah, Beca and the kids are going through a lot.**

**Cookierhys10: I'm glad you don't mind the kids' POVs. I'm glad you could catch on to Alix and Terra, because I was hoping someone would. Sorry this was a late update, hope you stick with it.**

**Guest 5: The most depressing and the most bestest? I think I can handle that. :D. Seriously, thank you so much, it means a lot that people appreciate my writing.**

**shakeyshay69: What's kinda funny is that I didn't know that Jesse and Aubrey were married either when I started this, but I realized it's been too long for them to not be together, and many people assumed that they were married, so I went with that. Aubrey and Chloe are not going to be friends anymore (at least for the moment), so I hope that answered your questions on that.**

**123a456e: Thank you, glad that you're enjoying it!**

**jodiem896: Although I'm appreciative of the fact that I can make people have feels, I feel bad for making you almost cry, so I'm sorry for that. I'm glad you love it!**

**yoli008: Trust me, seeing the couples break apart is killing me as much as it's killing you, and I kinda hate myself for the plotline of this story. Thanks for sticking with it.**

**Pottergirl72: I know, Alix and Terra are totally cute! I'm sorry, but I can't give you a hint about the status of the relationships (literally any of them) by the end because I honestly don't completely know, so I'm not going to make promises I might not keep, it depends on what happens with my moods and things I've included in past chapters. I hope you keep on reading.**

**cburton1995: You and I are on the exact same page. I hope you'll be fixed by the end of the story. :)**

**Rubiksmaniac: Thanks so much!**

**chloehuh: I can't make any promises, sorry. But I will try to do my best. Love yah.**

**And to everyone else, whether you're reading this randomly because you're bored or if you've followed or favorited it, or if you're a reviewer or a lurker, thank all of you. Love you awesome nerds.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys and gals. It's been a couple days, so I decided that I should hurry up and update so that I wouldn't forget to later on. Just a heads up, this chapter skips forward a significant chunk in time (seven months). Also, in case any of you are confused, Beca is referred to by the kids as 'mom' or 'mommy' and Chloe is 'mother' or 'mama'. Also, Beca and Chloe's kids are all related, they all had the same sperm donor as a father. For those of you who don't know, half siblings are siblings that share one parent, not both. So the twins are full siblings (obviously, they're twins. Carried by Chloe) and Molly and JJ are full siblings (both carried by Beca), and Rose and Alix are Molly and JJ's half siblings and vice versa. That doesn't mean that they're closer to their full siblings, I just wanted it to be known that they are all related. Just thought I'd clear that up. So without further interruption (besides the disclaimer) here is chapter five.**

**Disclaimer: I'm sitting on my couch, eating dry frosted flakes and writing a Pitch Perfect **_**fanfiction.**_** If I owned Pitch Perfect, do you really think I'd be doing that? No. I'd be sitting on my couch, eating dry frosted flakes and writing, oh, I don't know, maybe Pitch Perfect 2 that's set to come out in 2015? And Jesse would be the dorky, loyal, sweet best friend. So obviously I don't own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters, I only own what I created for this.**

**Beca POV-**

"C'mon, Beca." Cassidy pleads, gripping my hand in both of hers. "It's been seven months, five of which you've actually been officially single, and I haven't seen you with one girl for more than a one night stand, and these past three weeks you haven't even been having those." I sigh, rubbing my free hand over my eyes. As if I don't know. Seven months since I moved out and bought an apartment to share with Cassidy, five months after the divorce papers went through and officially ended my relationship with Chloe, three weeks since I'd met Daniella 'Danni' Rosario.

"_Oh, my god!" A feminine voice gasps, grabbing my wrist as I'm about to take a shot. I turn towards her, immediately captivated by her eyes, raising an eyebrow. "This is my favorite song, and you're really hot, so I want you to dance with me."_

_I laugh despite the growing pit of despair in my stomach, shaking my head at her with a smirk. "Forward, much?" I ask, and she rolls her eyes._

"_C'mon, you know you're hot. It's not like I'm saying anything you don't already know." She points out, and I smirk again, nodding slightly._

"_Fair enough." I tell her, before downing my shot. When I look back at her, she's pouting, her lips drawn down._

"_Oh, c'mon!" She pushes my arm slightly. "Don't you know how this works?" She asks, but I only raise my other eyebrow. She rolls her eyes again. "I give you a compliment, you give me a compliment, we tell each other our names, and we dance together. Then we end up falling madly in love." She informs me factually._

_I laugh at that, seemingly ignoring her speech as I ask "Are those contacts?"_

_She lifts her hand up and points at her left eye. "My eyes?" She clarifies, and I nod. She lets out a soft, twinkling laugh, one that has my lips curling into a genuine smile. "Ha!" She says, pointing at me. "I knew you could make another face! All I was seeing was your skeptic look, your mopey look, your pensive look, and your sexy smirk face." She leans forward conspiratorially as if she's telling me an important secret, but wiggles her eyebrows playfully at me. "I like the smile best." I grin at that, and then she's leaning away. "To answer your question, no. My eyes are 100% real, had 'em since I was born." I give her my skeptic look again, so she rolls her eyes. "I can prove it to you."_

"_Sure you can." I say doubtfully, her hand shuffling through the contents of her purse before pulling out a windows phone._

"_Aha!" She exclaims, quickly swiping at it before thrusting it at me. On screen is a picture of a black haired baby with rosy cheeks and stubby arms. The baby has her same striking eyes and I find myself rolling my own as she pulls the phone away. "Told you." She says smugly._

"_Okay then, girl whose name I don't know. I like your eyes." I inform her, and she looks confused for a moment before a wide smile spreads across her face, revealing multiple dimples on both sides of her mouth. "And my name is Rebecca Mitchell, but I go by Beca."_

_She lets out a gleeful squeal, clapping her hands together. "Well, Rebecca 'Beca' Mitchell, my name is Daniella 'Danni' Rosario. It's a pleasure to meet you." She sticks out her hand._

_I take it, but instead of shaking it like she probably intended, I slip off of my bar stool and tug her from hers, leading her to the dance floor._

_Three hours later, Titanium came on, and suddenly a flash of red was a few feet away from us. Turning, I saw Chloe dancing with a brunette slightly shorter than her. Of all the bars, she had to be at that one, grinding on some girl she'd probably never met before. Needless to say, I left the bar crying, fully expecting Danni to go on with her night. Instead, she came running out after me. "Sorry it took so long," She panted. "But I had to grab our stuff."_

_She hands me my bag and I sling it over my shoulder as I come to a stop in the middle of the pouring rain, still crying. "You should go back, enjoy your night." I tell her, shouting to be heard. She rolls her eyes, grabbing my wrist._

"_No way. You're the coolest, sweetest, nicest girl I've seen in years, Beca, and you need someone to make sure you're alright. We're going to my place." And I let her take me there, holding me while I cried until I fell asleep. _

Danni is beautiful, to say the least, her hair as black as Cassidy's, her eyes a startling ice blue that contrasts stunningly with her hair and pale skin, an average height that's still a few inches taller than me. Danni is also my girlfriend. We were friends for about half a week before we began to go on dates for about a week, until calling it official. Danni, the girl that desperately wants to meet my family. And by family, I mean everyone. Cassidy, Jesse, Kaylie, Xavier, Jamie, Elizabeth, Alix, Rose, JJ, Molly, Terra… and Chloe.

"_I want to meet her, too, Beca." Danni tells me as I sigh, resting my head on her shoulder. She wraps one arm around my shoulders. "She's the other mother of your kids, Becs, your ex-wife, and she's going to be a part of you and your life forever. You told me yourself that you aren't over her, Beca, so I would like to meet this woman that has your heart." I find myself chuckling at the phrase 'the other mother of your kids' despite myself and the growing feeling of dread in my stomach. I sigh again, giving in as I nod against her shoulder._

"_Alright." I mumble. "You can meet them this weekend at the family dinner thing we're doing on Saturday, but only if Chloe and the kids are okay with you meeting them so soon. They're her kids, too, yah know? I don't want to start a fight." Danni presses a kiss to my temple before pulling her arm off of me._

"_Thank you, baby." She tells me understandingly, kissing me softly before pulling away. "But you should probably leave, before Cassidy gets worried about you."_

_I nod, standing up and stretching, and Danni pokes the exposed skin of my stomach, eliciting a playfully outraged squeal from me and a giggle from herself. "Bye, Danni." I laugh, kissing her softly once more._

"_Bye, Becs." She says softly, and then I'm out the door with a soft click, hopping onto my motorcycle and sliding my helmet on before tearing out of the driveway and heading for home._

And now here I am, being interrogated by Cassidy. "Cass…" I sigh. "I met someone, three weeks ago. We've been dating for about a week and a half and I didn't want to tell you because…" I trail off, pleading with her with my eyes.

"Because you didn't want me to be upset." She finishes, and I nod, warily searching her eyes. She rolls them at me. "C'mon, Becs!" She shouts teasingly, shaking me. "Girly, I told you I want you to be happy. I need to meet this girl." I laugh, relieved, and pull her into my arms.

"You're the best." I tell her, and she grins at me.

"I know." She sobers after a minute. "Be totally honest with me here, are you in love with her?"

I pause, mulling it over in my head. I sigh, my arms falling to my sides. "No. I really, really like her, though, and I think that maybe- just maybe- I might be able to fall for her."

Cassidy's grin comes back, and she squeezes me into a hug. "When do I get to meet her?" She asks eagerly as she finally pulls back.

"Well, if Chloe and the kids are cool with it, she'll meet everyone on Saturday." Cassidy punches me in the arm.

"No fair!" She whines. "I don't get to meet her first?"

I laugh, shoving her back. "C'mon, Cass! It's two days, you can wait." She pouts, sticking out her lower lip for a few minutes before sighing.

"Fine. I guess I can. But that doesn't mean I'm happy." She pauses for a moment. "You might want to go over and ask Chloe tonight. One night isn't much time to prepare."

I shake my head. "No, it's her night with the kids. I don't want to interrupt that."

Cassidy rolls her eyes at me. "You're being a wuss. You'd have to interrupt her day with them tomorrow, too. You just want to put it off, because you don't want a fight."

"Fine." I growl. "I'll go over there now, but you're driving me."

Cass winks at me, pulling me off of the couch. "I thought you'd never ask."

I roll my eyes now. "I didn't ask, Cassidy, I told."

She glares at me, letting me know that that wasn't appreciated. "Okay, Ms. Smart Ass. I thought you'd never tell."

I laugh, jumping into her car, bumping her shoulder with my fist as she starts to drive. "Thanks, Cass. I love you."

She nods, a small smile playing at her lips. "I know. I love you, too."

**Chloe POV-**

The doorbell rings as Rose, Molly and I are doing the dishes, just one plate left. I shake off the water on my hands, dabbing the excess off with a dish towel. I toss the towel to Molly, who catches it with one hand without looking up, instead scowling at the plate in Rose's hands. "Be right there!" I shout.

"I got it, mama!" JJ shouts, and I hear his feet padding towards the door. "Mom? Aunt Cass? What are you guys doing here?" I hear him ask, and then I'm in the room. Beca looks at me apologetically over JJ's shoulder as he pulls her into a hug, and I smile reassuringly, shrugging.

"Hey, JJ. How are you?" Cassidy asks, patting his shoulder as he pulls away from Beca. JJ's smile turns into a grin as he responds.

"I'm good, Aunt Cass, really good. What about you?" She hugs him as he's talking, pulling away with a shrug.

"I'm doing pretty well. How's the girlfriend?" She asks, and JJ blushes.

"Casey's good." He tells her. "She's coming to dinner on Saturday."

"Speaking of Saturday," Beca cuts in, and Cassidy's smile turns to amusement.

"And that's our queue." Cassidy informs JJ, along with Rose and Molly, who have apparently finished the dishes. "Let's go upstairs." They walk off, chatting with their aunt, and I turn to Beca as she closes the door behind her. She wipes her hands on her pants, a nervous habit that she apparently hasn't dropped since she lived here with me. Since we were married.

"What about Saturday?" I ask, trying to swallow down the bile that comes with thinking about our divorce.

Beca smiles softly, sheepishly as she rubs her neck. "Um, yeah. About Saturday, I kind of wanted to ask your permission about something."

I raise my eyebrows. "My permission? Why do you need to ask my permission for anything?"

She sighs, running a hand through her hair. "Well… You see, I've been seeing someone. I've known her for three weeks, and we've been officially dating for half of that." Every word is like a punch to the gut, but I find myself nodding, hoping that I don't look as horrified and destroyed as I feel. "And we're getting kind of serious, and she wants to meet you and the kids. But I wanted to first make sure that you're okay with that and that they're okay with that before just bringing her." Beca's looking into my eyes, _my _Beca, except not. She's still the same woman, but she's not mine. She's never going to be mine again. She's looking so earnest, wanting me to say yes, when all I want to say is no. Say that these are my kids and she hasn't known this girl long enough. No one could blame me if I did, because those would be legit reasons, but I would blame myself. Because those aren't my reasons. The only reason I have is selfish. I'm still in love with her, and she's moving on. Just like what Cassidy said. _You're going to be like me, in love with the one person you can't have, watching. Watching and breaking, knowing that she's not yours anymore. She's going to move on from you, Chloe. Can't you see? _Why, yes. Yes, Cassidy. I can see. It's happening right before my very eyes.

But I suck it up, because at the end of the day, Beca's happiness and the happiness of my children are the only things that matter. "If it's cool with the kids, it's alright by me." Before I can react, Beca's arms are around me, squeezing me into a hug.

I freeze for a moment, and before I can start hugging her back, she's pulling away, blushing. "Sorry. That was inappropriate, I shouldn't have…" She trails off, sending me a quick, embarrassed smile. "I'm just gonna go talk to the kids now." She tells me, hitching her thumb towards the stairs. Before I can respond, she's halfway up the stairs and then she's gone.

**Rose POV-**

When my mom walks into my room, Molly throw her arms around her waist. "Mommy!" She squeals. My mom laughs, ruffling her hair.

"What's up, mini me?" She asks, and Molly rolls her eyes.

"I have my father's hair." Molly tells her matter-of-factly. Because she does.

"Yeah, well, he's just a donor. He isn't your parent, I am, and you have my eyes and my face and my height, so you're a mini me." She teases, ruffling her hair again. She swats her hand away, scowling. "You got that scowl from me, too." She points out, and Molly rolls her eyes again. She curls up on my bed, in between Aunt Cass and JJ, with me on the other side of Aunt Cass, Alix and Terra intertwined on the other side of JJ. Mom walks over and stands in front of us.

"So." She starts. "I met someone." Molly stares blankly at her, not getting it, so she continues. "I've known her for three weeks, and we've been dating for a week and a half. She wants to meet you guys and the rest of the family, but only if it's alright with you."

"What did mama say?" I ask, the first to speak up. "Did you ask her yet?"

"I just did, and I want your answers, not hers. What do you say?" Her eyes are wide, hopeful, and I can tell that she cares about this lady. And as much as I want to cling to the hope that my parents can fix their relationship, that hope is starting to crumble quickly. So I'm the first to speak up.

"If she makes you happy and you want her to meet us, then I say go for it." I tell her, and JJ's elbow hits my arm.

"Seriously, Rose, you're good with this?" He asks, his eyes skeptical.

I turn to him. "C'mon, JJ, it's not like I want to accept the fact that our parents' marriage is over. But at some point we have to. So if mom is happy, so am I."

JJ sighs, running a hand through his hair. He flicks his bangs out of his eyes. "I guess you've got a solid point there." He admits. "I've got no real reason to say no, so I guess I'll say yes."

But mom is shaking her head. "If you're uncomfortable with it, JJ, tell me. You're my kids, you come first."

JJ just shrugs. "I'm not uncomfortable, mom, it just makes me a little sad is all. I'm cool with it." Beca beams, and Alix speaks up.

"She's fine to come with me, as long as Terra's still allowed." She says, almost seeming uninterested. "Whoever makes you happy makes you happy, and I have no problem with that." She adds as we all look at her.

Our gazes fall on Terra, who beams. "Do I get to vote too?" She asks, and I roll my eyes as I chuckle. My mom nods. "I say yes, as long as you're sure that she's a good person and cares about you." My eyes shoot to my mom to judge her response, and she smiles reassuringly.

"She does, I promise." She tells us, and all eyes fall to Molly. "Mol?" She prods. I don't know what I expect. Tears, smiles, whatever, but I don't expect this. She shoots to her feet, and her next words have anger building inside of me.

**Molly POV-**

I stand up quickly, moving as fast as I can to stand in front of my mom, planting my feet and putting my hands on my hips stubbornly. "No. You can't bring some random girl home to try to tell us that you're okay. You're in love with mama and you guys are going to end up together because you have an epic love story that will end with you two together forever! You're both just being stupid right now, the stupidest either of you have ever been!" I'm almost shouting at the end, and Rose grabs my wrist.

"Stop being such a drama queen, Molly." She orders, yanking me back towards her and the bed. I rip my wrist from her grasp.

"No! I deserve a say, right? And if I say no, you can't bring her, because then I'd have to meet her. So no, mom, you can't bring this girl. You can't, I won't let you." I say stubbornly.

My mom suddenly looks sad, and I cock my head. This time it's JJ who grabs my wrist. "Shut up, Molly! You're such a brat!" I turn towards him, shocked. They never yell at me. "You're a spoiled little baby, Molly, and you need to grow up. Not everything is about you! You think we want our parents' marriage gone? We don't like that part of it either but mom deserves to be happy and you're the only one of us trying to stand in the way of that." His voice drops low as tears start to fall down my cheeks, but he doesn't stop. Instead, he makes me cry harder. "Mom and mama are over, Molly. They're not going to be a couple and they aren't going to have a happily ever after together." He turns to mommy. "You can bring your girlfriend over on Saturday. If Molly doesn't like it, I'm sure I can get someone to babysit her. Because she's a baby, so she obviously needs one."

"I'm not a baby!" I shriek, running at him and banging my fists against his side, sobbing. He turns, not even flinching as I keep attacking him, instead grabbing both of my wrists and pulling my arms behind my back sharply, holding me there.

"I'm four years older than you and quarterback of the football team, Molls. That doesn't hurt a bit. Grow up." He lets go of me, and I run to my mom.

She picks me up, hugging me slightly before putting me down. "JJ, don't talk to your sister like that. Molly, don't attack your brother and maybe he won't do that." She sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I'm gonna go tell Danni that she can't come over yet." She hugs JJ and rubs his back before moving on to each of my sisters and Terra, before turning to me. I grip her shirt as she tries to put me down.

"Tell her she can come, mommy. I'm sorry for yelling. I wanna meet her." My mom relaxes into my hug again and kisses my cheek.

"We'll see you guys on Saturday." She tells us, and then she and Aunt Cassidy are gone. I turn towards JJ.

"I'm sorry for hitting you, JJ." I mumble.

He smiles at me. "Don't mention it, little one." He says, ruffling my hair. "You're mature for your age, not a baby." With that, he turns and leaves.

**Terra POV-**

After Molly and JJ leave, Alix and I move to her bed, Rose rolling her eyes at us as she picks up a book and starts to read. Alix kisses me with bruising pressure, leaning me backwards so that she's laying on top of me. She nips at my bottom lip, swiping her tongue across that spot to lessen the sting. Her lips open and our tongues brush, making me let out an involuntary moan, immediately freezing both of us. Alix pulls her lips from mine and breathes heavily, our foreheads leaning together. As soon as we reconnect our lips, we're making out again, this time rolling so I'm on top. My hand slips under her shirt, tracing the dimples at the bottom of her spine, her 'back dimples' as I like to call them. I move my hand up farther, loving the warmth that's radiating off of her, before scratching my nails down. She lets out a gasp and a whimper, making me smile with satisfaction. As I go to reattach our lips I'm suddenly hit in the head with something hard. With an 'oof' as the air rushes out of my lungs, I fall off of Alix and hit my head on the wall. "What the hell, Rose?" I hear Alix snap.

I rub the spot on my head that the wall hit, sitting up and looking down to see the book that Rose was reading lying on the floor. "Maybe next time she won't stick her tongue down your throat with me in the same room!" Rose says indifferently, turning to her phone. I laugh despite the throb in my temple, and Alix flashes me an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, babe." She says sheepishly, wrapping her arms around me. I sigh, nuzzling into her neck as I wrap my own around her.

"'S ok." I mumble and she laughs, making me heart swell in my chest.

"God, I love you." She murmurs.

I smirk against her shoulder, deciding against telling her that my name isn't God, knowing that she'd slap me if I did. I settle instead for "I love you, too."

**Beca POV-**

Saturday approached all too quickly, and now Danni is climbing onto my motorcycle right behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist. We ride in silence for a while before finally reaching Kaylie's house. Kaylie insisted that Chloe continue coming to the house for family events because she is the kids' mother, too, and mistakes don't mean you should lose everything. I fully agreed and still do, although I don't think I ever actually made that known. Everyone is already outside, although I don't know if they were already out there or if they heard my motorcycle, but either way they're there. I sigh, and Danni shakes my body with hers as she giggles. She climbs off first, but I'm the first to pull my helmet off. All of a sudden, everyone's eyes get a bit wider, their mouths opening and closing as they share incredulous glances. I look behind me, only to see Danni, her hair somehow still perfect even after she had a helmet on, not breaking a sweat. I roll my eyes, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards everyone. This'll be fun.

**Danni POV-**

The first person I saw when I pulled my helmet off immediately walks towards us. His grin is dopey, his wide eyes a deep brown that somehow matches his head of brunette hair. "Well, hello there." He socks Beca in the arm. "Why was I not told about her before Cassidy?"

Beca scowls, rubbing her arm. "I happen to live with Cassidy, nerd." She responds, punching him in the arm as well. She turns towards me. "Danni, this is Jesse. Jesse, this is Danni." I smile at him and he nods, and then he's being pushed out of the way.

"Don't act like that's the only reason you told me first, Rebecca Mitchell." The new girl says, winking at me. Turning towards Jesse, she says plainly "She loves me more."

Jesse grabs at his heart, feigning pain, before smirking. "No, she doesn't, Cassidy. You just wish she did."

The girl, Cassidy, turns towards Beca with a scowl, her black hair flying as her emerald eyes lock onto my girlfriend. "Tell him that that was a low blow." Beca smirks, but does as she says.

"Jesse that was a low blow." She tells him, and he fakes a pout. "Cassidy, this is Danni. Danni, this is Cassidy."

"Watch out, Danni, she's in love with your girl." Jesse warns me playfully over Cassidy's shoulder. Beca sucks in a breath and Cassidy's jaw drops as she tries to form words. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You don't need to watch out, she doesn't act on it. She's given up and she had her chance in high school."

Cassidy spins around, landing a few good punches to Jesse's side before he pulls her into a head lock. "Stop spilling all of my secrets, Jesse!" She shouts playfully, and he ruffles her hair before releasing her. She turns back towards me, as I stand frozen with surprise, and shoots me a grin equally as dopey as Jesse's. "Don't worry about it, Danni, for serious. I just want her happy." I nod, relaxing slightly, and then a girl who looks a lot like Beca walks up, slinging an arm around Cassidy.

"Who's this, Aunties?" She asks, smiling at me.

"Lizzie, this is Danni, my girlfriend. Danni, this is Elizabeth, my niece." Elizabeth sticks out her hand, the first one to do so. This I can totally do. I take her hand, shaking it firmly before releasing it. By the time we're done shaking hands, Jesse and Cassidy have walked off.

"Nice to meet you, Danni, although this was a little unexpected. And by a little, I mean I'm totally upset that no one bothered to tell me that Aunt Beca is moving on." Before I can respond, two guys walk up, the taller of which drops his arm around Elizabeth.

"Well, who could this be?" The slightly shorter one drawls, flashing me a dazzling smile. "Not a new girl, Aunt Becs, you would tell us this, right?" He teases.

Beca rolls her eyes. "Danni, this loud mouth, smooth talker right here is my nephew Xavier, he's a total womanizer. And this other kid is my other nephew, Jamie." I smile, shaking both of their hands respectively, and then another woman with a strong resemblance to Beca walks up.

"Danni, this is Kaylie, my sister. Kaylie, this is Danni." Kaylie's eyes give me a once over before she smiles crookedly at me.

"I'll make this short and simple, Danni, and then we can have a grand old time. You hurt her, you're not on my good side. And that isn't what you want. Got it?" Beca prepped me for this, so I know what not to say. 'I won't, I swear'. That was Cassidy's line. 'I wouldn't dream of it'. This was Chloe's line. I didn't want to say one of those.

"I'm not them, I won't make their mistakes." I tell her, and Kaylie's grin grows.

"Well, look at you, Danni. Already getting on my mom's good side." Xavier tells me, nudging his siblings playfully. "We'll see you on the inside. Get ready for Chloe, because she doesn't look very upbeat and Chloe-like, today. I have a feeling it has to do with you." Before I can answer to that or ask any questions, all four of them are gone, leaving me and Beca alone outside.

She kisses me quickly. "You'll be fine." She assures me. "Quick tip on remembering people. Jesse is the one with the goofy smile and the movie references every five seconds. Cassidy has the stunning green eyes and the witty quips. Kaylie is like a mother hen, she'll be the one that's getting asked permission for things. When in doubt, ask Kaylie or me, but don't ask anything about where Kaylie's ex-husband and the kids' parents is. He abused them, like my father used to abuse us, but what's different is that Kaylie turned him in to the police when she found out. As much as she loved him, she loves her kids more. Jamie is the taller of Kaylie's boys, he's also much quieter. Xavier's the one that's going to hit on you no matter what you do. If you nod and walk away or roll your eyes and shake your head, but pick one or the other. Changing it up will give him the impression that you're flustered. Elizabeth looks a lot like me, and she'll offer to help Kaylie a lot. Molly's the eleven year old, she's the little me with black hair, but she'll flip if you call her little. JJ's the bulky teenager that looks more like he's eighteen with shaggy hair, he looks like the boy version of me. Now, the hardest part is Chloe, Rose and Alix. They all look the same, I swear to god. Here's the trick: the two that look more like teenagers are Rose and Alix, although it's always hard to tell because Chloe looks younger than she is. Now the harder part is distinguishing Rose and Alix. Rose usually leaves her hair naturally curly, and Alix straightens hers. Other than that, they are nearly indistinguishable. Also, Alix will be attached at the hip with her girlfriend Terra, who is basically my other daughter. Terra's hair is black like yours, Cassidy's and Molly's, only her eyes are grey. You got all that?" She asks, her rundown taking only a few minutes, if that. "Not too overwhelmed?"

I shake my head, smiling at her. "I got all of it. I'm good. Let's go in."

Beca grabs my hand, pulling me back. "And about what Xavier said about Chloe… she seemed fine Thursday night when I asked, but he doesn't usually lie. If she's being uneasy or rude around you, just brush it off. I'm with you." I grin at her, leaning in and kissing her. She sighs as I pull away. "Let's go inside, then."

As soon as we walk inside, it's like everyone stops moving and talking and even breathing. My eyes land on the five people I haven't talked to yet. Three redheads are sitting on the floor with a girl with black hair. The redhead with her hair straightened- who I assume is Alix –is literally wrapped around the black haired girl- who I assume to be Terra-, and they're sitting half in each other's laps. Sitting next to them are two women that I find indistinguishable, except for the fact that one of them is death glaring me. I take it that that means that the death glarer is Chloe, and the one with the kind smile is Rose. Sitting behind them on the couch is a teenager and a little girl. The girl's black hair falls over Beca's blue eyes, her face basically what I would call 'kid Beca'. The teenage boy's hair is shaggy and he flicks it out of his eyes, revealing them to also be Beca's, and flashes me a smile. JJ and Molly. All at once, the six of them stand up, walking towards me, the hostile redhead at the front. "You're Danni?" She asks, although I'm not sure if it's a question or a statement.

Instead of answering, I nod. "You're Chloe." I state, not questioning. Just stating. She just nods, giving me a once over and looking at me with an expression so unimpressed that I feel like I'm naked and she can see every little blemish. "It's nice to meet you." I try, putting my hand out. She just stares at it until I pull it away.

"We'll see if you can still say that by the end of the night." She tells me, and then she looks at Beca, a smile curling her lips. "Hey, Becs."

Beca rolls her eyes, tightening her grip on my hand. Chloe's eyes narrow on our hands before shooting back to Beca's eyes. "Play nice, Chloe." This time Chloe rolls her eyes, walking away.

The straight haired girl smiles at me apologetically. "Sorry about my mother. She's a bit sore still on the divorce and mom related subjects." She waits for a second before adding "Oh, sorry. I'm Alix and this is Terra, my girlfriend." Terra gives me a little wave, stepping closer to Alix and resting her chin on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm Danni." I tell her, and she smiles again. "It's nice to meet both of you." They move back to their places on the floor, and when they start to lean towards each other, obviously about to kiss, I look at the only redhead left, Rose.

"And I'm Rose." She tells me, surprising me by pulling me into a hug. "Please don't break my mom's heart." After a few more short sentences, she walked over and pulled Alix and Terra apart.

The next one to come up to me was JJ, who like his sister, hugged me. Only he lifted me off of the ground. "I'm JJ and it's a real pleasure to meet you, welcome to our weird band of misfits." He turns to a girl with blonde hair and a slightly bluer version of Terra's eyes. "This is my girlfriend, Casey, and she's also Terra's sister." Casey nods at me with a small smile, JJ's arm wrapped around her shoulders. With that, and a playful punch to the arm, they're gone.

Molly cocks her head at me. "I'm Molly. I'm not little."

I shake my head. "No, you definitely aren't." I agree.

She smiles up at me. "You're cool." She walks off suddenly, leaving me to look over at Beca in confusion, who just grins.

"Well, you just got on everyone's good side. Minus Chloe, that is." She smirks, leaning in to kiss me. "Let's go, baby."

**Chloe POV-**

Eight hours. Eight long, torturous hours of watching Beca and Danni flirt and interact with our family. Eight hours of glaring at Danni, who just looked at me pityingly. Eight hours before I made a lame excuse about getting called into the hospital for work, kissing my babies goodbye and leaving, promising to go on a girls' night one night next weekend. Three more hours. Three hours filled with tears and pillows and a hoodie I never gave back to Beca folded in my arms. Three hours until the blissful relief of sleep overtook me.

**Danni POV-**

When Beca dropped me off, she was slightly fidgety, and I knew she wanted to get back to her kids at home. Jesse had dropped them off at her house a while ago, while we were on our way. "Thanks for coming tonight. You were great." She says, smiling at me.

I nod, gripping her hands. "Thanks for letting me, Becs. I… I love you."

She tenses for a minute before pulling her hands away, rubbing her neck as she lets out a sigh. "I'm not going to lie to you, Danni. I know how you feel. I'm just not there yet. I think I might get there, eventually, but right now… Chloe's still a big hole in my heart, and I can't… I'm not over her, and I'm not going to tell you that I am before it's the whole truth and I'm sorry, Danni, you don't know how sorry I am, but I-." I cut her off, kissing her.

"I just had to say it." I whisper. "I know how you feel, too."

She grins at me. "You're amazing." She tells me, pecking my lips.

"I know. I'll see you later, Becs." She smiles once more before walking back to her bike, giving me a half wave before disappearing. I can't stop the sigh that falls from my lips as I lean against my closed door. "Why do you always fall for the girls that are still hung up on someone else, Daniella?" I mutter, walking back to my bed. I fall onto it, pulling on a hoodie of Beca's, one she let me borrow. Breathing her in, I fall asleep, feeling slightly better. I'm the one she kissed goodnight, I'm the one she's with. Not Chloe, no matter how she feels.

**So… Molly's rant thingy made me mad, I didn't like it at all. But I liked the rest of it, so hopefully you will too. I have a question for you guys, one that may seem weird, but here goes: To all of you Chihuahua owners… does your Chihuahua ever bite your nose and then nuzzle into your neck and face? Cuz mine has been doing that all night tonight, (yesterday night by the time I update this) and I probably would've updated this right now if he hadn't been, so blame my dog. I worked on this all day. Reviews:**

**chloehuh: Nice, hashtags. I hope you liked the update.**

**Cookierhys10: I'm sorry. I'm actually not quite sure if this is capable of being fixed, I'm still brainstorming all of the possible realistic ways to leave them broken or fix them. If I find a realistic enough plot line with them fixed I'm probably going to use that. :) Hope you enjoyed**

**hollymariec0mbs: Thank you. I'm always tempted to change point of view, I'm not sure why. I think with Molly's protest of meeting Danni I could've done better but I'm bad at younger kids' feelings and thoughts. Hope you liked it.**

**Guesstttt: I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Also, Jamie's rant was by far my favorite (except for Cassidy's, I liked the baseball bat metaphor). And Beca kissing Cassidy had to happen. Like literally, I tried to erase it and then immediately hit the undo button because it just didn't seem right unless that part was in there. :)**

**Guest: Thanks! And no, Beca didn't cheat. Not once. :)**

**gossipssweetlips: Thank you! Yeah, Beca slapped Aubrey in both the original version and the version that got posted. I'm pretty sure angry rants are becoming my specialty. I really love Terra and Alix, like they're amazing together. They did get divorced, but that doesn't mean I won't throw a twist in there somewhere. :)**

**123a456e: Thanks. And yes, it would've been totally wrong and heartbreaking for Cassidy. :)**

**Lizzethhhh: That doesn't make you sound mean. I mean, well, maybe it does, but it's what everyone is thinking so not really. :) Hope you liked this update.**

**Rubiksmaniac: Thanks! I'm reading your story: 'Secrets'. It's really good, I like it a lot. There will be a lot of sudden plot twists (probably.) :)**

**Pottergirl72: Thank you! I'm sorry I make you cry, and I'm sorry about your parents, I hope they are both happy. :)**

**And to everyone, including the people I just responded to: Thanks so much for your support. I don't think you really know how much it means to me. It kinda makes being me worth it. So thanks. Please don't forget to R&R!**

**Love you awesome nerds.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Greetings, people-who-probably-hate-me-because-I-took-sixteen-days-and-however-many-hours-to-update-a-story-that-I-should've-been-updating-daily. I'm really sorry for the wait, and hopefully you will enjoy this update. I'll make it up to you somehow, I swear. Life caught up to me and I got super depressed and self-hating and I was on Tumblr for the majority of my days (not gonna lie) and then I got physically sick and I was just like 'eh, I feel like shit, let's not'. I still feel like that, but whatever. Also, shout-out to chloehuh because I told you that I would update on Sunday, so I'm three days late now. Really sorry about that, I really am. So here's the update…**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Pitch Perfect. Only my characters and story/plot.**

**Chloe POV-**

The next weekend came all too fast, and the proposed girls' night quickly became a family bar outing. Everyone under twenty one stays home, Alix, Terra and Rose in charge, while the rest of us go out. And by the rest of us, I mean all of us, including Danni. I feel a pang in my chest as I think of her and Beca, and the anger in Beca's eyes at my actions towards Danni.

"_Hey, Chloe." Danni says hesitantly, rubbing her hands together. "Are you excited about tonight?"_

_I muster up the blankest face I can manage as I cock my head to the side. "I would be if you weren't coming, but seeing as I have to see you all over each other… no. Not really."_

_Before she can respond, I walk away, but not before Beca steps in front of me. "You don't have to be such a bitch to her, Chloe. She never did anything to you." This time, it's Beca who walks away before I can respond._

Snapping out of my reverie, I turn my gaze to Danni, only to see her plant a kiss on Beca's lips. I suck in a breath, unable to look away. Danni squeezes Beca's hand, sending her a small smile before turning and climbing on stage, and it's then that I realize she's got a guitar.

**Beca POV-**

Danni's eyes burn into mine before flickering to Chloe, a sad look in her eyes. She smiles at me, a sad, soft smile, and then she starts to strum her guitar. Jesse walks over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder with a concerned look. He's apparently recognized the song, although I haven't. Whatever it is can't be good. I turn my gaze back to Danni as she begins to speak. "Hello, everyone." She greets, and everyone in the bar begins to cheer. "This song is for my girlfriend," I see Chloe flinch, but I focus on Danni. "I think most of you will be familiar with it, so I apologize for changing a lot of the words to make it fit. So… here goes, I guess. This is for Beca."

She clears her throat, and when I finally recognize the song it's like she punched me in the stomach. I can't breathe. "I am sensible and so incredible and all your single friends are jealous. I say everything you need to hear and it's like you couldn't ask for anything better. I open up your door and you get into my car and I say 'you look beautiful tonight'. And you feel perfectly fine." She flashes me a sad, apologetic and forgiving smile before starting to really sing. "But you miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain, and it's two AM and you're cursing her name. You're so in love that you act insane, and that's the way you loved her. Breaking down and coming undone, it's a roller coaster kinda rush, and you never knew you could feel that much. And that's the way you loved her."

I can feel Chloe's gaze locked onto me as the change in lyrics register to her and she realizes what I've been trying so hard to hide. Danni's eyes lock onto mine. "I respect your space and never make you wait and I call exactly when I say I will. I've never met your mother but I'm close with your sister. I'm charming and endearing and you're… comfortable." She takes a deep breath and then begins to sing the chorus again, not quite meeting my eyes. "But you miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain, and it's two AM and you're cursing her name. You're so in love that you act insane and that's the way you loved her. Breaking down and coming undone, it's a roller coaster kinda rush, and you never knew you could feel that much. And that's the way you loved her."

She finally maintains eye contact as she belts out "I _can_ see the smile you're faking. And your heart is breaking, cuz you're not feeling anything at all. And she is wild and crazy. Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated, got away by some mistake and now… you miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain, it's two AM and you're cursing her name. You were so in love that you acted insane and that's the way you loved her. Breaking down and coming undone, it's a roller coaster kinda rush, and you never knew you could feel that much. And that's the way you loved her. Oh, oh. And that's the way you loved her. Oh, oh. Never knew you could feel that much. And that's the way you loved her." She adds a flourish by strumming a series of extra chords on her guitar at the end. She locks her eyes with mine before looking away guiltily. She pushes her guitar over her shoulder so that it rests on her back, held in place by the strap I gave her two days ago for her birthday. She walks over to us, her expression concerned. "You alright, Becs?" She asks, worrying her lip between her teeth.

I shake my head, feeling embarrassed and guilty and hurt. "I'm fine." I lie, and Danni rolls her eyes.

"Right, sure. Can we talk for a minute? Alone?" She casts a small peak towards Chloe and I sigh, nodding as I intertwine her hand with mine and tug her outside. She trails behind me as I run my hands through my hair. "Beca, seriously. Are you alright?" I shake my head, surprised at the tears in my eyes as I turn towards her, grabbing her hands and staring up at her, desperate for me to believe me.

"_I love you_, Danni." I rush out, and she smiles softly at me, brushing away a few stray tears from my cheeks. "I swear, I love you."

She nods slowly, sadness in her eyes. "Yeah. But you aren't _in love with me_. You love me like a sister and a friend." Before I can respond, she rushes out "And that's alright, Beca." She tries to muster up an actually happy smile, but it falters. "You never promised me anything, Becs. In fact, you were always completely honest with me, and I took that risk. I knew full well what I was getting into, and honestly? I wouldn't change a thing. Not a single thing." I suck in a deep breath, trying to control myself, but tears keep spilling.

"I'm sorry." I gasp out, needing to get this off of my chest. "I'm sorry that I can't love you like I should. I'm sorry that you've been so amazing to me and I'm still hung up on my ex-wife who _cheated on me_ for _six months_ with her best friend." Danni shakes her head, shrugging.

"You can't help who you love, Beca." She informs me, sounding wise. "It just happens. Plus, eighteen years of a love that defied all boundaries? That doesn't just go away or stop hurting in that short of a time. I didn't expect you to fall head over heels for me, Beca. But it's become apparent that you aren't invested romantically, although you are invested. And it's alright. You're amazing and beautiful and talented and if you ask me Chloe Beale is the stupidest person on the face of the earth for cheating on you when she had every part of you. So, no, I don't blame you for not falling in love with me, Becs. I just hope we can still be friends." She finishes her speech, leaving me in tears.

I nod frantically, surprising both of us by wrapping my arms around her. She sighs into my hair, pulling me tighter against her. "Thank you, Danni, thank you so much." I mumble, and she laughs, surprising me further.

"Why are you thanking me, Beca? I love you." She pulls away after a few more moments and plants a kiss on my forehead. "I think I'm gonna go home now, though." She tells me.

The tears remain in my eyes as I try to look calm. I nod, and she rolls her eyes. She cups my face with her hands, brushing tears away with the pads of her thumbs, and then she leans in and places a soft, lingering kiss on my lips. She pulls away, her eyes searching mine, before smiling again. "Bye, Becs. I'll see you later. Go inside and have fun with your family." Before I can respond, she turns around and walks away, leaving me alone with my thoughts. After another few minutes, I run my hand through my hair, and walk back into the bar.

**Chloe POV-**

Beca walks in, looking disheveled, and her eyes lock onto Jesse, who gets up from his seat beside me and walks over to her. They start talking, too far away for me to hear what they're saying, but Beca gives Jesse a weak yet reassuring smile, shaking her head. He says something to her, and both of them look at me, Beca blushing as she realizes I've been watching them. I don't bother to look away. Jesse squeezes her shoulder and then disappears into the crowd, heading towards the bar entrance, while Beca walks towards me slowly. "So…" She says hesitantly, sitting down on the bar stool that Jesse vacated. "Where is everyone?"

I wave my hand around. "They all left. No one was really in the partying mood."

She nods. "Danni broke up with me."

She signals to the bartender, ordering a shot of whiskey, and then she turns towards me again. "I'm…" I pause, considering my next words. "I'd say I'm sorry but… I'm really not. I don't like you with her."

Beca laughs bitterly, downing the shot. "No, Chloe. It's not that you don't like me with her, it's that you don't like me with anyone but you."

I nod, tracing the rim of my martini glass with my pointer finger. "That's not untrue."

I'm surprised to see tears welling up in her eyes as I look back at her, but I'm more surprised by the words that come out of her mouth next. "You know, I don't like me with anyone but you, either, Chlo." She sniffs, wiping away the tears that have started to fall from her eyes. "And it's n-not fair, Chloe, it's so unfair. I have to live with being in love with you every day. But I can't trust you. How can I trust you again?"

I grab her hand without thinking of it, pulling her closer to me, our foreheads touch, but Beca doesn't pull away. She breathes in deeply, closing her eyes as my lips get closer to hers. "I'm sorry, Beca." I whisper, swallowing harshly. "I swear to you, if you let us start over, I'll never hurt you again. I promise, Becs."

She breathes in raggedly, her eyes opening, tears spilling. "I can't, Chlo. I can't. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But I can't be with you."

I catch her wrist again, before she can walk away. "Please, Beca." I whisper, and then I'm kissing her. She kisses me back immediately, automatically responding, but then her brain catches up and she pushes me away.

"I can't." She whispers, her voice raw. "I just can't." She turns then, as her wrist falls from my fingers, and pushes through the crowd until she is no longer within my sight.

The bartender places her elbows on the bar and leans over. "Word of advice, red. Don't let that one get away."

"Thanks." I say, slightly unnerved. "Did you hear that whole conversation, or…?"

She only chuckles, drying out a glass with a small dishrag. "The name's Cindy. What'd you do that makes her so unable to trust you?"

"I cheated on her." I say bluntly, with no hesitation. "With my best friend." The woman's eyes get a little wider. "For six months."

She shakes her head, letting out a low whistle, before pouring a very complicated-looking drink, and sliding it over to me. "Damn, girl. How long had you guys been together?"

I let out a little laughing sob, downing the drink and barely choking on it as it burns my throat on the way down. I slam the glass down, wincing slightly. "Eighteen years."

Cindy does a double take. "Jesus Christ, that's a long time."

"We were married, and we have four kids." I add.

Cindy shakes her head. "Listen to me, red. You guys have a family, and she wouldn't have kissed you back like she did if she doesn't still feel something for you, so keep your head up. It'll all work out."

"Thanks, Cindy." I tell her, sliding a fifty across the bar. "Keep the change."

"Thank you, red. Maybe I'll see you in here again sometime." With that, she moves to the other side of the bar, tending to someone else.

**Cassidy POV-**

There's frantic knocking on my door, so with a sigh, I pause my show and stand up, moving to the door. I peek through the little door hole, immediately yanking the door open and pulling Beca inside. She wraps her arms around my waist, burying her face in my shoulder, her body wracked with sobs. "Becs, what's wrong? And why did you knock? It's your apartment too."

She clutches my shirt in her hands, still crying. "C-Chloe k-kissed me and Danni b-broke up with me and I'm so messed up, Cass, I'm so messed up."

"Shh." I whisper, smoothing my hand over her hair. "It's alright, B, it's alright. Calm down, and then we'll talk about it, okay?" Beca nods, sniffing and rubbing her eyes as she pulls away. I lead her to the couch, sitting her down and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. I walk off, grabbing two tubs of ice cream from the freezer and two spoons. I walk back in, handing her one of each, and she smiles gratefully at me. "Spill." I say, after a few minutes of eating in silence. Beca sighs.

"After Danni sang that song to me, she broke up with me, said she didn't want to be with me when I'm in love with Chloe. No hard feelings or anything." She starts, taking another spoonful of ice cream. "Then I talked briefly to Jesse, who wanted to make sure I was okay, and then he left. Then I sat down next to Chloe and I told her that Danni broke up with me and then she asked me for another chance and then she kissed me and I left and came here. About halfway home, I started bawling, and had to pull over before I could collect myself enough to drive. And here we are."

"That was the vaguest summary ever, B." I tell her, sticking another spoonful into my mouth and wincing at the cold.

She shakes her head, laughing bitterly. "The vaguest summary would be: I talked to Danni, Jesse and Chloe- all separately –and then I was crying as I drove home. Ooh, or: I talked to some people and drove home."

I shove her arm. "You know what I mean, Becs. Are you alright, though?"

She lets out another bitter laugh, the tears flowing again. "I miss her, Cass, every goddamn day. I miss when we were a family, and I'd give anything to be able to trust her again, but I can't."

I place my ice cream on the table, followed quickly by hers, and then I pull her into my arms. Surprisingly, she doesn't fight me. Instead, she moves closer, placing her head on my chest as I rest my chin on the crown of her head. "I know. But even if you can't _fully_ trust her now, maybe if you guys started fresh, she could prove it to you. I mean, that betrayal will never completely go away. But you'd be a family again."

Beca sniffs. "I don't know, Cass. I really don't know."

**Chloe POV-**

"I don't know, Stace. I really don't know." I say, moving my phone to my other shoulder. "She left, and she seemed upset but okay. Like, I don't know." I walk in, setting my purse down, kicking my feet up as I sit down on my couch. There's a loud knock on my door, and I raise my eyebrow. "Look, Stace, I gotta go. Someone's at the door."

I hang up before she can answer, opening the door, shocked at the sight. "It's your night, mother." Rose says angrily, pushing past me into the house. The rest of the kids follow suit. "We waited for you to come get us for hours. Aunt Kaylie drove us home."

I run my hand through my hair. "Shit, I'm sorry."

Terra smiles sympathetically at me, but then Alix yanks out of her girlfriend's grasp, stepping closer to me, her eyes suspicious. The suspicion quickly turns to anger. "You're drunk? Everyone left the bar hours ago, mama, and you're still smashed. It should've worn off a little by now. How long were you there?" Her tone is accusatory.

"I… I don't know." I admit ashamedly.

Alix rolls her eyes. "Great, that's just great. At least Moll's asleep so that she doesn't have to see her mother drunk off her ass. I hope you don't get too hungover, you have to go to her talent show tomorrow. Or did you forget about that, like you forgot about us tonight?" She doesn't wait for an answer, instead storming up the stairs. Terra shoots me an apologetic glance, running after her girlfriend. JJ turns and carries Molly up the stairs, followed closely by Rose, neither of them saying a word. I sigh, sliding down the wall beside the door, running my hands through my hair again, wondering when my kids will forgive me, if they ever will.

**JJ POV-**

I carry Molly to her room, tucking her in under the blankets, smoothing her hair off her forehead with a sigh. Rose presses her hand against my shoulder, tugging me away, and we go to my room. She flops down on my bed with an irritated grunt. "Hey, Rose. You know you have this thing called your room that you can go sulk in?" I tease as I drop down beside her.

She laughs despite her crappy mood, punching my arm. "Shut up. You saw how upset Alix was, here and at the house. I figured I'd give Terra time to calm her down. I just hope they're not going at it when I decide to come back in." I let out a pained sound, half laughter and half groan, and thump my pillow over my head, chuckling as she stutters out "What the hell, Jay?"

I laugh again. "I didn't need that mental image, Rosie. That was nasty. That's… ugh." I shudder, and Rose starts to laugh. She sobers after a minute.

"You know, no one's called me Rosie since mom left… She used to call me that a lot." I glance over, and suddenly Rose's eyes are filling with tears. "Mom's never around anymore, you know? She only has us on the weekends, which isn't fair, because she didn't do anything wrong, but because her income is less and she's living with Aunt Cass. And all mama does is drink or cry or drink and cry, and I always had Alix to lean on, but now she has Terra. I'm worried about Molly, because she's quieter now, quieter than she's been in… well, since I can remember. And it sucks, JJ, you know that? Life sucks." She wipes angrily at the tears running down her cheeks, failing to stop them.

I sigh, pulling a wet strand of her red hair off of her cheek. "Aww, c'mon, Rosie." I try, squeezing her hand. "Listen. Molly's going to be fine. She's got us to look after her. And Alix… She needs Terra. Anyone can see that, Rose, and I know you can, too. But that doesn't mean she doesn't need you. She does. And you can still talk to her, I guarantee it. So, stop worrying about it. You two take up different parts of her heart, but they're equal."

She curls her legs in tighter. "I know, JJ, but I'm so used to being her rock. And now… now I'm being tossed to the side."

"Don't think of it like that, Rosie. Please. That'll get you nowhere. She loves you." I pull my big sister into a hug, trying to get her to calm down, and I stay like that until she falls asleep.

**Terra POV-**

"Alix, please. Just calm down-." I whisper, my tone hushed.

"Don't." She bites out harshly, making me flinch. She doesn't talk to me like that anymore. The only time she did was when we were broken up. "Don't tell me to calm down, because I don't need to calm down. I need to be mad, to feel something other than nothing. I need to feel, Terra, and you should understand that." She's not yelling, but she might as well be. Her words are that harsh. I feel like she's slapped me. "You should understand me."

"I do understand you, Alix, you know that." I manage, but Alix scoffs and shakes her head.

"No. You think you do, but you don't. You never will, so just stop." Her voice is lower than it's ever been when she's talking to me, and I don't like it at all.

"You know what, Alix? I don't need to be chewed out for something I can't control. Sorry for trying. I'll call you tomorrow, when you've come down from your 'I'm better than the world' high." I turn, reaching for the door handle, but that's when her hand catches my shoulder, yanking me into her arms.

"Don't leave." She murmurs into my hair. "Don't leave, please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, I'm just so… so mad. And I miss my mom."

I turn, pulling her close to me, and her chin fits perfectly in the space between my neck and my shoulder, just like it always has. "I know, Ali. But that doesn't mean you have to be a bitch."

She nods, wrapping her arms around my waist, kissing my neck softly, repeatedly. "I know. I'm sorry, Terr. I love you." I shuffle awkwardly until we reach the bed, lying down beside her and pulling her closer still.

"I love you, too, asshole." I tease, kissing her behind her ear. She laughs, the sound muffled by my neck, and then she lifts her gaze to mine, tears making hers watery.

"I miss my mom, Terr. I never see her, really. It sucks." I sigh, scooping her onto my chest, kissing her forehead.

"I know, baby, but have you guys talked to her about it? I mean, maybe she could spend more time with you on her days off?" It's a lame attempt, but it's all I have.

Alix sniffs. "Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Terr. Thanks for loving me."

I kiss her lips this time, pulling away only long enough to murmur "It's not hard to, Ali. Thanks for letting me."

She captures my lips again, and my last coherent thought is that I hope she can get as lost in me as I get in her.

**Hey… So, sorry again that this was so long, and I'm actually not sure if I like this, but I figured you guys deserved an update. Sorry again. **

**mysterypeep7: I don't think it's odd, per se. It is a Bechloe fic. And thanks. :)**

**nii4itu: I'm glad you like it so much! I actually started to re-answer your question but then I realized that I PM'd you. :) Sorry for the late update.**

**gossipssweetlips: I'm really glad that you liked Molly's rant and the kids' acceptance of Danni. Yes, the kids do share time with both of their parents, but they spend more time with Chloe. I know, Chloe was really rude, I just figured she wouldn't be quite as accepting. Yes, I will definitely start putting Jesse in more. I know I said I would in TSWYLEI and then I didn't, but I will in this. Thanks. :)**

**Moxain: Can't promise anything, but I swear I'll try. Thanks for sticking with it, please don't actually cry.**

**chloehuh: I'm glad you liked it. Sorry again for not updating on time.**

**Cookierhys10: I'm glad you liked Molly's rant. Terra and Alix are my favorite people ever, lol. :)**

**ballpointmf: Thank you, I will.**

**Lizzethhhh: I'm glad I can make you feel a lot of different emotions although I'm sorry it's got you all tangled up inside. Thanks for sticking with it.**

**Rubiksmaniac: Thank you! And thanks for the name again.**

**hollymariec0mbs: I know. I feel bad for her.**

**Guestttt: Of course I replied! It means a lot that you take the time to leave feedback, so I take the time to reply. Yes, I love the motorcycle badassness too. And yes, I did just make that word up. :D **

**TheSandyToadfish: It surprises me by the amount of feedback I've gotten from people who don't want this to be Bechloe endgame. I'm trying to keep an open mind, and I'm considering every option. If it's possible to realistically fix them then I will. If not… I might not. Thanks so much.**

**Love you awesome nerds. Also, sorry if this seems rushed, it actually wasn't rushed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey, gals and guys (figured I'd put girls first this time, seeing as I am a girl and I need to support my gender, too). I'm glad none of you hate me for the wait. Some of you have requested more Jesse, and I'm really sorry that I didn't put more of him in TSWYLEI but I'll put more of him in this one, so… Also, I will clear up what happened with Aubrey and where she is and stuff. BTW, Molly's 11 and I put her in fifth grade, because there are 11 year olds in fifth grade. So, yeah.**

**Disclaimer: Ugh, this is tiring. I don't own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters of Pitch Perfect. I own only the plot and the characters I create.**

**Chloe POV-**

The first thing that I register is hands on my shoulders, shaking me roughly awake. Then I hear a loud beeping that I quickly realize is my alarm clock. For a second I see me as a teenager, until I realize with a start who I am and where I am. "Rose?"

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, mama, who else would I be?" She turns around, slamming her hand down on the alarm clock, managing to stop the beeping. "Goddamn, why is that thing so fucking loud?" She asks, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Rose!" I snap. "Watch your language."

"Sorry, mama." She mumbles. "Anyways, you promised Molly you'd go to the talent show. She's almost out of elementary school, so it's kinda her last thing to do to make everybody proud. So get up and get dressed."

"God, it's like you're my mom, instead of the other way around." I scoff.

Rose's eyes soften a bit. "The way things have been going lately… that's not a new thing, mama." She sits down on the bed with a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Look, mama, we're worried about you." She admits.

"Who is we?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

She sighs, shaking her head a little bit. "Everyone, mama." She states bluntly, exasperated. "I mean, we all know you messed up, but you're just on a downward spiral. And by everyone, I mean, _everyone._ Even Jesse. And I know mom is, too, because I've talked to her about it."

"What?" I shout, sitting up.

Rosie lets out a laugh. "Wow, mama. You sounded like me and my friends fangirling over The Vampire Academy. And yeah. I asked her if she was as worried about you as the rest of us." Rose waits a moment before she leans over nudging me. "Wanna know a secret?"

"Sure, why not." I say sarcastically, hoping I'm not sounding as desperate as I feel.

Rose grins and I know she can see right through me. "She said she is. And even though she didn't say it, it's pretty obvious that she still loves you. You just need to build up trust again." She sounds so sure, so sure that I don't dare to tell her what I think. That Beca never will trust me again. That I may have lost my chance with the girl of my dreams. With my wife. "Also, she's coming to the talent show. Just in case you didn't know." Rose pats my leg, standing up and leaving the room. "C'mon, mama. You're both going early and helping set up, remember?"

**Beca POV-**

When Jesse, Cassidy and I walk in, we automatically look around for Chloe and Molly. The talent show's contestants are rehearsing right now, so I spot Molly right off the bat, looking around anxiously. Her eyes lock onto mine and a big grin stretches across her face. She runs towards me, flinging herself into my arms, and I scoop her up. She winds her arms tightly around my neck, shouting "Mommy, you're here!"

I laugh, ruffling her hair before putting her down. "Of course. I promised you I'd come, didn't I?"

She nods, giggling as Jesse picks her up and flings her over his shoulder, tickling her sides. "How is my favorite eleven year old?" He asks, putting her down carefully.

She beams at him, walking backwards, tugging us with her, Cassidy following. "Hi Aunt Cass! I'm good, Uncle Jesse. We're rehearsing."

Just then, I hear someone call out "Molly, it's time to go back to class!" Molly's grin is sheepish, and then she's letting go of our hands.

"Well, we _were_ rehearsing. I'll see you later, mommy." She kisses my cheek, only needing to stretch onto her tiptoes and jump slightly to reach it. She waves to Jesse and Cassidy before running off to her teacher and her friends. I roll my eyes, and Jesse punches me in the arm.

"She's adorable. Were you that adorable as a kid? I don't think you were. I don't think anyone is capable of being that adorable, except for your other kids, of course." He rambles, and then I punch _him_ in the arm.

"Okay, what do you want, Jess?" I ask, and he grins widely.

"Well, you see, I have this co-worker that is interested in you, and I was wondering if you-."

He's cut off as Cassidy shoves him. "No, Jesse. Danni just broke up with her last night, and she's not over Chloe. You know that." Jesse looks down sheepishly, rubbing his neck, and she flicks his ear. "Besides, Mr. High and Mighty, I don't see you in any relationships either."

He shoves her right back. "Oh, hush up, Cass. I was just trying to help."

"You can help me over here, Mr. Swanson." A deep, familiar voice booms from behind us. I break out into a grin, spinning around.

Andrew Valente stares back at us, grinning in return. "Beca. It's been too long, my friend. Much too long." I grin, clasping his outstretched hand in mine, pulling him into a one armed hug, our hands sandwiched between us.

"Andrew, how have you been?" I ask, pulling away. I met Andrew around six months after Molly was born, when Chloe wanted to stay home with her, so I needed to start working. He owns a club nearby our city, and he caught wind of my need for employment. I worked for him until Molly was four years and two months old, and then I had to stay at home because Chloe got a job offer at a nearby hospital, one that pays more than the gigs at the club. Andrew had been sad to see me go, claiming that I could become a world renown sensation, putting not only myself, but also his club and his franchise on the map. I'd reasserted the importance of my family's welfare, and Andrew had graciously accepted my resignation, paying me in full for the rest of the year, even though my last gig was in the beginning of February. His explanation was that he was well into his forties then, and he had plenty of money to spare, due to his parents' and brother's wealth. After much protest, he had finally written me check after check, not stopping until I finally relented and stopped voiding all of them, accepting them begrudgingly.

"I have been doing well, Beca. Very well. And how are you? I heard of your divorce, and I was so very sorry to hear about the… er… _circumstances_ as to which brought about the end of your relationship." Andrew pauses, searching for words. "Learning of your wife's infidelity is one of the worst feelings. Believe me, I've experienced it many times." He clasps his hand on my shoulder. "However, rest assured that it does get better."

I sigh, patting his hand gratefully. "It means a lot that you say that, Andrew." I tell him. "If you don't mind us asking," I start, looking at Cassidy and Jesse, who smile reassuringly before beginning to lift boxes and move them. "Why are you here?"

Andrew laughs gruffly before breaking into a coughing fit. Once he recovers, he beams waveringly at me. "I remarried, since we last talked. What has it been, Beca? Ten years or so? I do believe your children won't remember me at all. We should remedy that." Before I can respond and confirm that, yes, it's been ten years, and yes, we should, he's talking again. "Never mind that, back to my reasoning. I remarried, and my wife has already had a daughter, who in turn has had a son. So, I'm here for my step-grandson, who I am proud to say loves me very much, and I love him as well. He's eleven, just like your little girl." Seeing my surprise, Andrew chuckles. "I may be a fifty-three year old man with memory problems, Beca, but I have not forgotten you or your talent." He assures me. His eyes darken, locking on something over my shoulder. "Nor have I forgotten your redheaded love, or her best friend."

I turn my head, following his gaze, meeting Chloe's bright blue eyes. She smiles weakly at me, sadly, before turning and saying something to a familiar blonde. My cheeks heat and a weight drops in the pit of my stomach, anger making my nostrils flare slightly. Aubrey. Aubrey's here. "What the hell is she doing here? She doesn't have any kids!"

Andrew's arm drops heavily onto my shoulder, pinning me in place. "Darling, I wouldn't suggest going over there. You'll only start an argument."

I sigh, rubbing my eyes with closed fists. "I know. It's just… She has no right to be here. Not after what they did to me. Not after what they did to Jesse." I freeze, yanking my hands down, Andrew's arm slipping off of my shoulders. "Oh, shit. _Jesse._" I turn towards where Cassidy and him had been standing, not seeing them. I spin in a frantic circle, my eyes finally locking onto them.

Cassidy's looking back at me, helpless, as Jesse's fists ball by his sides and his chest heaves. There's a wounded, panicked look in his eyes, and I rush over to him. Andrew follows behind, quickly clasping Jesse's shoulder. "C'mon, Jess. It's not worth it." I say desperately as he steps forward. "She's not worth it. They aren't worth it. Forget about her. She's only going to hurt you." Jesse's breathing is ragged, and he pulls his foot back.

Andrew pats his shoulder. "Now, Jesse, you don't want to go over there. It'll only hurt you more."

"He's right, Jess. Don't." Cass says, slightly sympathetic.

Jesse shakes his head. His eyes lock onto mine. "I miss her, B. Don't you miss Chloe? You know how I feel, right? Maybe if I talk to her, then we could-."

I cut him off, stepping closer, shaking my head. "I understand, Jess, really, I do. I get it. I know exactly how you feel, because that's how I feel every single day. I also know that if you go over there, you're going to regret it. I have to live with the fact that Chloe's a permanent fixture in my life, but Aubrey's not. Not in mine or yours. It's over, Jesse, and if you want to get over her, you need to walk away. Now."

He's breathing hard, his eyes shifting back to her and staying there, and all I can do is stand there and wait to see what he does.

**Jesse POV- **

I felt Cassidy's body tense beside me. I turned, looking at her quizzically, only to see concern etched on her face. I followed her gaze to Beca, who was frozen, and then I heard Cassidy's sharp intake of breath from beside me. I didn't realize for a full thirty seconds that she was no longer looking at Beca, instead following Beca's gaze to Chloe. But not just Chloe. No. Never just Chloe. That would be too simple. Chloe and Aubrey, though… that complicates things. I heard Beca's angry tone lower as she talked to Andrew, rising again a few seconds after. I heard her walk up to me. I felt Andrew's hand clamp down on my shoulder. I heard Beca talking, distantly, barely registering that Andrew was telling me to not go over to them, my foot moving of its own accord, taking a step forwards and then back again. I heard Cass tell me that Andrew's right. But all I saw was Aubrey, saw her let out a small chuckle, her blonde hair fluttering ever so softly, and then Chloe's eyes found mine, and Aubrey followed her gaze to me, and then she froze. Her green eyes met mine, the softness and apology in them causing me to break out of my trance. I shook my head, not to tell them they were wrong, but to clear my head. I turned my gaze to Beca. Asked her to understand. Tried to convince myself- just as much as her -that I should talk to her. I didn't convince either of us.

After Beca's little 'I get you, Jess' talk, I don't know what to do. I don't know how to move. After a few more minutes of staring at Aubrey, her eyes locked onto mine, I finally squeeze my eyes shut, tilting my head downwards and to the side. "I'm going to walk away, Beca, but I can't look at her while I do it. It hurts too much, but I can't look away." I say, opening my eyes and looking at Cassidy. She smiles at me reassuringly, offering me her hand.

Beca nods, seemingly relieved, and then Cassidy's leading me away. She drags me outside, through the doors of the gym, where we are. When the fresh air hits my face, I sigh in relief, running a hand through my hair, which I cut short a couple days ago. "Buzz cut, huh?" She teases, bumping my arm with her shoulder. She rubs her right arm with her left, shivering a little, and it's then that I realize how cold it is out here.

"Yeah." I say with a warm smile, peeling off my hoodie and handing it to her. She smiles back gratefully, taking it. "I figured I would try something new. The 'longish-on-the-sides-but-short-in-the-front' cut that I had going for the past year or two just isn't working anymore. Plus, Aubrey liked it, and I was feeling spiteful."

Cassidy lets out a bubbly laugh at that, tugging the hoodie over her head, not bothering to unzip it because it's so big for her petite frame. She's almost as small as Beca, really. She's only a few inches taller and Beca has more muscle. Cass whips her black hair up into a sloppy ponytail. "I'm really sorry about what she did to you, Jess."

I nod, stuffing my hands in my jean pockets. "I am, too. I just… I still don't understand. But I guess I never really let her explain."

We wander around for a few more minutes, laughing and joking and sometimes just walking in silence, until Cassidy sighs contentedly. "I'm glad we're friends, Jesse." She says genuinely, smiling at me.

I turn my head slightly, grinning back at her. "Me too." I admit, surprised when I truly mean it. I used to hate her for hurting Beca, but she's not that same girl. We come to a stop near the edge of the parking lot. I wrap my arm around her shoulders and she rests her head on one of mine. She turns her head as I go to kiss her cheek, and our lips collide, surprising me. It's just lips pressed against lips, and I press harder, trying to find a spark, but I don't find one. She pulls away, shock evident in her face, before her eyes curiously search mine. She places her hand on my cheek and leans in, her emerald eyes still wide open, now sparkling with even more curiosity. Her lips press against mine, my hands automatically going to her waist, and then she pulls away, letting out a frustrated sigh. She turns a split second later, her hands crashing into my hair, tangling in it, her tongue slipping into my mouth, battling with mine as I go with it. She yanks away with yet another frustrated sigh, shaking her head before looking away and then back.

"Nothing." She says calmly, shaking her head again. "Not a damn thing. That was like… kissing a sibling, or something. Even with the spontaneous tongue wrestling." She sighs again, and that's when I start laughing, throwing my head back as my hands fall off of her waist. She giggles along with me, shoving my arm. "Stop it, Swanson, you know I'm right. I didn't even mean to kiss you." She pauses for a second before reconsidering. "Well, uh, I mean… I didn't mean to kiss you the first time. The rest was just totally curiosity to see if I would feel _anything._ But, I mean, you're a swell kisser and all, and that hip/waist grab was quite gentlemanly. If I was physically attracted to you, you would've sufficiently wooed me."

I laugh at the incredulity of her statements. "We were _spontaneously tongue wrestling_? I'm a _swell kisser_? If you were attracted to me, I would've _sufficiently wooed you?_ Do you even hear yourself right now, Cass?" I ask, still cracking up.

She smacks my chest. "Shut it, Swanson. What else was I supposed to say?" She makes her voice rugged and deep, booming out loudly "That could've been hot to you, but I just don't feel it."

"Dude, where did that even come from?" I ask.

She gapes at me. "You haven't seen that movie? You, Jesse Swanson, movie fanatic, have not seen _that_ movie?" She shakes her head, looking ashamed. "Jesse, Jesse, Jesse. You don't know what you're missing out on."

She starts to sprint back to the gym, surprising me, until suddenly I find myself running after her, catching her halfway there. It tackle her to the dirt, and she laughs, grinning up at me. "C'mon, brother." She jokes. "Let me up."

"What movie is that and why haven't I seen it?" I rush out, and she breaks into chuckles again, wiping away tears because of how hard she is laughing. I stare at her in confusion for a few minutes before huffing and getting off of her.

She stands up, not bothering to brush the dirt off of her clothes or her hair, including my hoodie. "It's not." She says suddenly, as we approach the doors.

I look at her, confused. "What's not what?"

She lets out a little chuckle. Using air quotes, she says "The 'quote'. It's not a quote. It's not from a movie. I made it up."

I shove her shoulder once I realize that she's being serious. "You're not nice, you know that, Cass?"

She grins evilly at me. "But you love me." She singsongs, no doubt in herself, and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah." I mutter. "Surprisingly, I really do. Little sister."

We hesitate outside the door, her hand on the push handle. "You ready to go back in there?" She asks, her tone and facial features sympathetic.

I nod, taking a deep breath. "As ready as I'll ever be." I answer honestly, before stepping forward and into the gym.

**Beca POV-**

As soon as Jesse is gone, Andrew slips away, telling me that he'll see me later, and goes to work on banners. I, however, turn and stalk towards Chloe and Aubrey, who both turn from watching Jesse to watch me. There's an odd sense of panic in Aubrey's eyes, and apology in Chloe's. I ignore Chloe, heading straight for Aubrey.

**Aubrey POV-**

As the door slams shut behind Jesse and Cassidy, I feel an odd sense of relief mixed with disappointment, which quickly turns to pure terror as Beca turns towards me, raw anger in her eyes. She's heading straight towards me now, taking surprisingly long strides for her height. When she reaches us, she slams her hands down on the table that is the only obstacle between us. She leans forward, her lips flat, maintaining her calm features, but I can see the rage. She's one wrong move from snapping and going off on me. "What are you doing here?" She snaps.

Chloe steps forward. "Beca, c'mon, she's-." Beca doesn't even spare Chloe a glance as she cuts her off.

"Don't, Chloe. Just don't." She says, her tone slightly hurt. The hurt is quickly replaced by anger again. "You need to leave." She adds, addressing me. "You have no reason to be here."

"I invited her." Chloe says quietly, and when I look at her, her eyes are severely apologetic towards Beca.

Beca slams her hands down again, but surprisingly no one looks at us. They just keep working, presumably assuming that we're just building something. "Goddamn it, Chloe. Why the hell would you do that? Don't you care about how anyone feels besides yourself?"

Now Chloe's eyes grow flinty. "Oh, so you can flaunt Danni all you want, but I can't bring Aubrey here? We're not even together, Beca, just trying to rebuild our _friendship._ Why are you jealous anyways?" She snaps, and I feel like cowering under the weight of Beca's glare, which turns incredulous as she turns to Chloe.

"First of all, I didn't _flaunt_ Danni. I was trying to get over you, trying to give her a fair chance, and I didn't want to hide our relationship. A relationship that is now over because of you, I might add. And second, I wasn't talking about my feelings!" She snaps, and Chloe's anger fades to confusion and a little bit of guilt.

"Then who were you talking about?" She asks.

Beca tugs at her hair sharply and I can't tell whether she's hissing in pain or anger. "Fuck, Chloe. I'm talking about Jesse!" Chloe's eyes grow wide and I feel like I've been punched in the gut. "You've been to almost all of the family functions. Did you ever once see him bring a girl? Ever? No. Because he's still coping, and both of you are too self-centered to even consider his feelings at all." She turns towards me, shaking her head. "You know what? You can stay, for all I care. Just leave Jesse alone."

She turns to go, but Chloe grabs her wrist. "Beca, I'm sorry."

Beca tugs her hand away, pausing and turning her head towards her ex-wife. "You know, Chloe, the whole Danni thing…" She shakes her head, letting out a sigh. "At least I asked, Chlo. I asked you and the kids if they were okay with meeting her. And in case you've forgotten, you said yes."

Chloe shakes her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "What was I supposed to say, Beca? 'No, because I'm still in love with you and I'm selfish and I don't want you with anyone else'? I couldn't say that to you."

Beca shakes her head again, letting out a choked laugh. "Yeah, Chlo. That's what you were supposed to say. It would've been honest, and I need you to start telling me the truth because I can't trust you if you lie to me all the time. And then you made Danni feel horrible, with all of your snide remarks. She didn't do anything, Chloe, except try to make me happy. She didn't do anything to you." She pauses, swallowing. "I'd like to hope that you at least asked the kids if they are alright with Aubrey being here, but I doubt you did. So, in case you've forgotten, they know what happened to break us up and they know who it happened with. They might not want to see her." Beca leaves then, not even acknowledging me again, walking over to the banners and the older man that she was talking to earlier.

He clasps her shoulder, shaking his head at her with a good natured laugh as he looks back over at us, saying something to her. She laughs in response, bumping his hip with hers, and starts filling in the outline of the words on a poster with paint. "She's so happy, Aubrey." Chloe manages to say through her tears.

I turn to her, my incredulity overbearing. "Seriously, Chloe? You can say that?"

She turns to me, her tears drying slightly as anger floods her. "Look at her, Bree! She's over there having a blast!"

I roll my eyes and scoff. "Look at her, Chloe. Really look at her. Can't you see how torn apart she is?" Chloe turns, staring deeply at Beca, and shoots me a questioning glance. She looks back at her, and I watch as Beca's smile falls slightly as she becomes lost in thought, before she lets out a deep sigh and shakes her head, going back to painting. Chloe sees it too, but before she can respond to me, the door that Jesse fled through with Cassidy flies open.

He walks in, his hair shaved close to his head in a buzz cut, and I notice that his hoodie is gone. Gone, that is, until Cassidy walks in behind him, the hoodie dwarfing her small frame. I'm overcome with jealousy, until a thought occurs to me. Beca said Jesse hasn't gotten over me or invited any girls to anything, but she might be wrong. If he and Cassidy are together, then he wouldn't have to invite anyone over, because she always goes to those. But that means that Beca would've still been lying about Jesse not being over me. And then Chloe would've been lying, too. And then what would be the point of Beca telling me to stay away from him? Unless… Cassidy and Jesse are dating in secret and everyone else thinks they're just friends. Is that what's going on? I watch as he flings his arm around her shoulder, saying something into her ear, and she rolls her eyes, shoving him away. He holds his arms out to the sides and wiggles them side to side, and I can tell from the way his lips are moving that he's singing. Whatever the song is, it's making Cassidy laugh, until she holds out her hand which he brings to his lips and kisses, bumping her hip with his. She laughs again, and then her gaze meets mine.

She looks confused for a second, and then I realize I'm glaring at her. I try to relax my expression, to no avail, and Cassidy glares right back. She mutters something to him and releases his hand, turning and stomping off towards Beca angrily. I watch as Jesse sighs, running a hand over his head, the hand falling to rub his neck as his eyes meet mine. He shakes his head at me, his eyes sad and hopeless, turning and walking towards his friends. He stops, about three fourths of the way there, and turns back towards me. 'Go.' He mouths at me. 'Please.'

I feel a sick, churning sensation in my stomach, and then I realize that Chloe is no longer beside me. Instead, she's halfway across the room, heading straight for Beca. I curse, doing the math quickly, knowing that she's too far away for me to catch her before she gets there. She stops beside Beca, not looking at her, instead addressing Jesse and Cassidy. I pull my phone out, sending her a quick text, before sighing. I stand there for a few minutes, watching them laughing and talking, before I begin to walk out. Jesse turns after she stops talking, his eyes locking on to mine for a split second before I'm out the door, ducking my head down as I head towards my car. I hesitate for only a few seconds before starting the engine and tearing out of the lot, heading for the highway.

**Beca POV-**

Chloe comes to a stop beside me. I don't know how it's her, I really don't, but maybe it's just because I've always been in tune with her. She doesn't address me, though, instead addressing Jesse. "I'm sorry for not considering you and your feelings, Jesse. It's not that I don't care about you. I do." Her gaze travels over Cassidy, Andrew and me. "All of you." She adds. "I just wanted my best friend back. And I promise, if you're not okay with-." Her phone vibrates audibly in her pocket, the beginning notes of Sleeping With Sirens' 'Roger Rabbit' starts to play, and I know that it's Aubrey. That's always been Chloe's ringtone for her, even in college. Chloe ignores it, though, and starts talking again as it fades. Just a text. "If you're not okay with having her around, I won't invite her to anymore functions, school, family or otherwise. I'm sorry."

Jesse nods slightly, running his hand down his leg, no doubt wiping off sweat from his palms. "It's alright. I just can't deal with that yet, okay? I can't see her yet. I can barely look at _you_ sometimes, let alone Aubrey, and I don't really see how Beca can do it. She's stronger than me, I guess."

Chloe nods, swallowing. "I'm really sorry about everything that happened, Jesse. I never meant to hurt any of you." Her eyes flicker to mine before heading back to him, this time addressing Jesse and Cassidy. "Now, I don't think she meant to vocalize this, but she did. She thinks that you two are in a secret relationship that you're hiding from the rest of us."

Surprisingly, Jesse and Cassidy break into laughter. "No, man. No." Cassidy manages to choke out. "We are not and never will be a couple, openly or in secret." Jesse nods in agreement, his eyes wide as his chuckles die down slightly.

I scoff at that. "You guys would make like the perfect couple." I protest. "How do you know if you'll ever be a couple?"

Cassidy laughs again, and this time it's Jesse who explains. "Because," He informs us breathlessly, "While we were out there, we accidentally kissed." I wait, wide eyed, for him to explain further. He laughs again. "There was nothing. No sparks, no fireworks, nothing. It was just… unpleasant." He pauses for a second. "I mean, the kissing wasn't unpleasant, it was just… dull, to put it nicely. Cassidy's a swell kisser." He cracks up, leaving me and Chloe very confused.

Cassidy chooses that moment to chime in. "I mean, yeah, he's a swell kisser and all, as well, and that hip/waist grab was quite gentlemanly. If I was physically attracted to him, he would've sufficiently wooed me."

She says that to us with a straight face for a good ten seconds afterwards before laughing again. Jesse joins in, leaving Chloe and I to glance at each other, trying to figure out what just happened, after a moment, we just shrug, and then Chloe's tugging me away from them. We walk out the same doors Jesse and Cassidy walked through, and then she's hugging her arms around herself. We walk in silence for a while, not an awkward silence, a comfortable one. She breaks it first. "I miss you." She says, her tone genuine, and I glance over at her, sighing and nodding as I shove my hands in my jacket pockets.

I take a deep breath. "I… I miss you, too, Chlo. I really do."

She sniffs, moving one arm to swipe at her nose. "I got so used to waking up next to you every morning and being able to kiss you whenever and having you all to myself and then falling asleep next to you every night, that I started to take it for granted." She begins. I try to focus on keeping my feet going, because something's telling me that this is it. This is my last shot for a new start with Chloe, for closure, my last and only shot to know why she cheated on me. "I took it all for granted, you, our family, your love for me, my happiness, everything. I thought that it wouldn't matter, no matter what I did. Every time I was cheating on you with Aubrey, every single time, even as I was trying to justify what I was doing by being drunk or whatever, the one thing that kept running through my mind was 'Beca loves me. She'll forgive me.'" She lets out a half laugh, half sob, and we stop walking, not looking at each other, but I want to look at her. She lets out a shaky breath, and I know she's trying not to cry. "I… some part of me thought that you needed me more than I needed you. Like… maybe you'd be upset, but you'd still need me. And I thought to myself 'even if she doesn't forgive me, I don't need her.'" She's shaking as we sit down beside a car, her shoulder pressed to mine, and I dig my nails into my palm to stop myself from standing up. "I was so wrong, though, Becs." She lays her head down on my shoulder. "So wrong. And I know you've been betrayed in the past. Take Cassidy or your parents for example." She nods against my shoulder, and I can't stop myself. I wrap my arm around hers, shifting my body slightly closer to her. "But… I keep thinking to myself 'She found it within herself to try to forgive them.'" She swallows. "And you forgave Cassidy, Beca, and I think if you're parents hadn't passed away, you would've forgiven them. But I… I miss you like hell, Beca, and it's all my fault. I'm so sorry."

I sigh, resting my head on hers. Screw this, I miss her too. "I miss you, too, Chlo." I whisper. "But I just don't… why, Chloe? I need to know what I did."

She sighs. "I was being honest when I said I don't know, Becs. I don't know why. All I know is that you didn't do anything wrong. Nothing. Not a thing wrong." She raises her head and brushes a strand of my hair away from my face. "You were- and are –the best woman and wife I could've ever wished for. I messed up, but you didn't. You are my rock, Becs. I love you and I'm sorry. I'm so goddamn sorry, for everything."

She pulls me into a bruising hug before blushing and pulling away quickly. "Sorry." She murmurs. We sit in silence for a little while, until suddenly she starts singing. "Tell me: What's the point in life? Is it material? Had everything I could ever want and probably more. When I lay in bed at night, all I do is think of you. So, when all this is done, who do I have to come home to? This life goes by so fast, pretty soon I'll grow old. What would I have, but some stories now that I have told? No one to share them with, and when it's all done, what am I left with? Tell me what's left." She sing, and I sigh. "'Alone' by Sleeping With Sirens." She informs me, and I nod.

"I know." She intertwines our hands. "I'm ready to start from scratch." I tell her suddenly, pulling my hand away. "Start over. I mean, of course we have the kids and all, but I want to forget about the cheating and the fact that you hurt me, and just start fresh. As friends."

Chloe nods slowly at me, before holding out her hand, which I take cautiously. "My name's Chloe." She informs me. "Chloe Beale." The smile on her face grows slightly as I shake her hand before pulling back.

"Well, stranger." I say, smiling a little tiny bit. "I'm Beca Mitchell. It's nice to meet you."

Chloe leans towards me. "I think we're going to be fast friends, Beca." She tells me, and then she stands up, helping me up. "Friends?" She asks hopefully.

I nod, smiling still. "Friends." I agree, and she pulls me into a hug. I hug her back awkwardly, until suddenly she grabs her phone and checks it. Her smile falls, and she turns it towards me, showing the text from Aubrey.

**Hey, Chloe. I'm going home to Boston. Tell Beca and Jesse that I'm sorry for hurting them. Both of them. I hope you all have good lives. Oh, and one other thing? I love you, Chloe. I'm sorry for ruining your marriage along with mine. –A Posen.**

Just as I finish, my phone buzzes, and I fish it out of my pocket.

**Chloe loves you, Beca. I know we both made a lot of mistakes, but I know she loves you. So much. I understand why you hate me… hell, I hate myself, too, probably more than you ever will. But don't hate Chloe. She didn't tell you this, but I was the one who kissed her that first time, not the other way around as you probably assumed. That doesn't make any of this right, but she didn't come to me the first time with the intentions of cheating on you. I love you, as well. You were becoming like a sister to me, Beca, and I will never forgive myself for the way I hurt you and Jesse. –A Posen.**

I sigh, rubbing my hand on my neck as Chloe reads mine, too. "She was becoming my sister, too." I admit softly, and then Chloe and I walk back inside.

**Alix POV-**

As soon as school is out, I rush from my classroom to Terra's, chivalrously waiting for her to come out of the room. After she told everyone that we are dating, people got pissed, and it scares me to think of her walking around with them eyeing her like vultures. After a minute, I walk in, looking around for her. Her teacher looks up at me, readjusting his glasses. "If you're looking for Terra, Miss Mitchell, she's in the counseling center with her parents and her sister, talking to Mrs. Callay."

I lift an eyebrow. "Mr. Terence, are you even allowed to tell me that?"

The young, twenty-something teacher shrugs. "I don't really care. You're her girlfriend, I'm sure she wouldn't care. Besides, she's already pretty distraught. Has been all of the times I've seen her today."

I nod slowly, taking in his words. "Well, thanks, Mr. Terence. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess." He nods, beginning to whistle under his breath, and I take that as my cue to leave.

When I reach the office, Terra, Casey and their parents are coming out of the counseling office. I step towards her immediately, and her breath catches audibly in her throat before she flings herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and clutching me as she begins to sob into my throat. "Woah, Terr, what's wrong?" I coo, trying to catch someone's eyes. I finally lock gazes with Casey, but she just shakes her head, a tear of her own falling. I wrap one arm around her waist and cradle the back of her head with the other, pulling her impossibly closer. "Terr-bear, what's wrong?" I ask, but she just cries harder. I stroke her hair soothingly, pulling her out of the office. Her family follows quickly behind, and then I hear heavy footsteps approaching and JJ's tell-tale cologne.

"What's going on? Alix, is Terra okay? Casey, are you okay?" He stammers out, grabbing his girlfriend and pulling him into her side.

"I'm moving." Terra mumbles into my ear. "I'm moving, Alix. To Seattle."

I jump up, pulling her with me. "Wait, what? Like, Seattle, Washington? The state that always rains? You're moving to _Seattle?_" I choke out.

She nods, tears spilling faster and faster. "I'm leaving, Alix, and I'm scared." She whimpers.

JJ's holding Casey to him, his face stricken, but all I can do is pull my girlfriend and pray quietly that everything will be okay. "We can do this, Terra. I don't mind a long distance relationship. We'll text and call and Skype and all of that good stuff, alright?" I whisper in a rush, pulling away and cupping her face with my hands. "We'll make this work. You love me, I love you, we'll be together without a hitch, Terra." I'm trying to convince myself as much as her, and we both know it, but Terra just nods, ducking her head back into my shoulder.

**Hey, so… this was alright, right Sorry if Chloe and Beca becoming 'friends' is really fast. And yes, Beca's parents died, I'll go into that a bit later, but not too much, seeing as they abused her in TSWYLEI and they weren't close. I promise that won't be the end of the whole Bechloe cheating/drama issue, and I still don't know if this will be Bechloe endgame or not, seeing as some of you do not want that and I'm trying to be super realistic here. I don't like unrealistic things, not too much. Anyways…**

**hollymariec0mbs: I know, I'm sorry about all the angst. :(**

**Cookierhys10: Yes, yes there might be. I'm glad you appreciate all of those things. Thank you so much for offering me your help, and I would accept, it's just that I don't have a good track record with trusting people with knowledge about me… I'm very glad for the offer, though, and if I'm stuck in a bad place for a while, I'll talk to you. :)**

**Guestttt: I will go into more detail with Aubrey, but she was in this chapter, so that's good. I will explain more about her and Jesse and them coping. Thanks. :)**

**123a456e: Thanks so much, aha. And yeah, I realized that you didn't review for the chapter before. But no harm done. :)**

**Chloe: Aww, that sucks that you can't get into it. But thank you. :) love yah.**

**Rubiksmaniac: I updated! YAY! Also, I'm really loving Secrets, can't wait for Beca to reveal her secret to Chloe.**

**Lizzethhhh: Thanks so much! And yes, the kids are breaking my heart and I control them, haha.**

**Guest: Thank **_**you**_** for reviewing. And I'm glad you love it.**

**So next chapter will be Molly's talent show. I was going to put it in this one, but this got really long and I still don't know what exactly I want her to do in the show, so… yeah. Also, songs used in this chapter and before this one:**

**The song Danni sang to Beca was 'The Way I Loved You' by Taylor Swift, although I changed the words slightly so that Danni could sing it and make sense.**

**The song in this chapter was 'Alone' by Sleeping With Sirens.**

**Please don't forget to R&R, it means a lot. Love you awesome nerds.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, guys and gals. So, I've noticed that I have, like, patterns? I say "Hey guys" every time I start a chapter, then in the bottom A/N I usually start with 'So' and then I always end with 'Love you awesome nerds'. I realized this when I wrote 'love you awesome nerds' at the end of the last chapter twice… I erased it before I posted it, though, and I'm not sure if I should lock that down or not… Anyways. Hope you guys like this. P.S- You can skip Molly and Brandon's dance scene if you want, it's not important, I just wanted to include it, and I literally know nothing about dancing. I watched, like, fifteen **_**So You Think You Can Dance**_ **dancing routines before writing this, and I don't think I did very well. Anywho…**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of ways to say that I own nothing but my stuff. This is tiring.**

**Beca POV-**

I turn towards Andrew, suddenly curious. "Andrew, what's your grandson's name?" I ask.

He lifts an eyebrow at me. "Brandon. Brandon McCail. Why?" He asks curiously.

I break into a grin, clasping his shoulder as he's done to mine. "Dude. That's the kid that's dancing with Molly. She's been crushing on him for ages, man, even though she won't admit it. I've met him a couple of times."

Andrew lets out a laugh, his arm falling on my shoulder as we take our seats in the front row next to Jesse, Cassidy and Chloe, the spots reserved for fifth grade family members. "How odd. Fate is weird like that, I guess. Brandon has been talking about how cute his talent show friend is." Andrew and I roll our eyes simultaneously.

I lean closer to him. "Twenty bucks they date all through high school and end up getting married." I say, totally serious, and Andrew shakes his head.

"If I made that bet, I would surely lose." He informs me, and then I catch sight of my other three kids. Rose makes her way over to us, her best friend (besides Alix), walking towards us behind her. He flashes me a charming smile, pulling me into a hug.

"Hey, Mommy Mitch." He says warmly. "It's been awhile since I've seen you." I smile as he sits down beside me, Rose sitting beside him.

"Yeah, Derek, too long. How's school going?" I wave at Alix, Terra, JJ, and Casey, who all look severely depressed. Terra's head is resting on her girlfriend's shoulder, Alix's arm wound protectively around Terra's waist, and Casey has a definite, almost frantic grip on JJ's arm as he looks at me and forces a smile. They take their seats beside Rose, and before I can ask what's wrong or Derek can answer my question, the lights dim and we all fade into a hushed whisper, and then silence.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mr. Waters, the elementary school principal, booms. "It's so very good to see you all tonight, here to support your children and their talents. And I know you're all very nervous and excited, as are our students. So, without further ado, I present to you, the Capers Ville Elementary School's annual Talent Show representative, Andrea McKinney."

Andrea steps forward gracefully, moving to the microphone. "Our first act," She announces, "Is Lucy Amarillio…" She keeps going, but I'm zoning out, clapping at the appropriate times, anxious for Molly and Brandon to come on. I check my watch and sigh. Another hour until the fifth graders. And Molly didn't even let me know what dance she's doing, instead choosing to practice at Brandon's house and at school, or at Chloe's while I wasn't there.

Finally, the hour passes, and Andrea gives a bright smile again. "And now, opening for the fifth grade part of the show, Molly Mitchell and Brandon McCail, performing a well-known song with their very own dance routine." She pauses, and starts to smile again. "These two children… I honestly can say that they are very, very talented, and could probably give the dancers on '_So You Think You Can Dance'_ a run for their money."

She walks off stage, the curtains falling, and a faint rustling is heard from behind the curtain, along with a slight giggle. The curtains whip away, leaving me staring at my baby girl in awe. Her hair is curled in stylish brunette ringlets that fall gracefully on her shoulders. I'm close enough to see her close up, her eyelashes elongated, no doubt by an eyelash curler. Glitter seems to be dusted all over her, enough that it sparkles when she moves. Her eyes are dark with eye shadow, dark black fading into grays and a hint of brown, mascara enhancing her eyes yet again, eyeliner making her eyes pop. Her lipstick is a deep red, a startling contrast to her pale skin and black spaghetti strap tank-top and high-low skirt.

Standing across the stage from her is a boy that I recognize from Molly's birthday party last year. He's wearing a black and gray striped fedora on his head, tipped low so that it covers his eyes in shadows, eyes that I remember are a flashy emerald color, much like Cassidy's, yet darker and brighter at the same time, eyes that contrast spectacularly with his pitch black hair, surprisingly. He's wearing a dark black jacket that looks leather, unzipped, a simple yet boyish white tank top underneath and a silver chain with a ring on it around his neck. He's wearing black pants, too, and I'm pretty sure they're skinny jeans, with black and white converse sneakers, the laces tied tightly with short loops. His left hand dangles by his side, though his left is gently holding the edge of his hat, his face turned towards Molly, looking towards her feet and the floor. Molly flashes me a wicked grin, one that I've flashed to many people in my life time, and then she's snapping her finger at her side as Brandon taps his foot.

The opening notes of 'Heartbeat Slowing Down' by All-American Rejects starts to play, but it starts at the middle of the first verse. Brandon steps towards Molly, not moving his head at all, his hand still clutching his hat.

_**Something that I had to do.**_

Brandon takes another step towards her, his hand dropping from his fedora, his movements more graceful than any child I've ever seen, his face still pointed at the ground.

_**I cut you deep, you're bleeding through.**_

He starts walking (it's more like a fluid stride, his feet seemingly not touching the floor), and he spins around in the middle of the walk, his eyes still on the floor, reaching Molly in a matter of seconds, her face turning to look at the floor, suddenly looking defeated.

_**You're every single shade of blue.**_

He lifts his head now, his hand moving quickly and raising her chin to face him, his eyes still hidden behind the hat.

_**I'm standing right in front of you.**_

He grabs her shoulder with his free hand.

_**I can hear your heartbeat slowing down.**_

He rips his hands away, moving in a fluid movement away from her, jumping off the ground slightly with grace as his hands fly out to the sides.

_**I can hear your heartbeat turn me around.**_

Molly grabs his shoulder, her arm yanking his whole body back suddenly, and Brandon's spinning forwards to face her.

_**You can take my life.**_

Brandon skips forward, his legs moving gracefully, his whole body falling to the floor centimeters from Molly's feet before he's rolling off of his hands onto his back, staring up at her, the fedora still in place.

_**All you need.**_

She 'falls' down on top of him, her movements fluid and deliberate, holding her whole body up with one hand and her toes, her other reaching out and picking up his hat, pulling it off of his head and tossing it a few feet to the farther left side of the stage, where it lays, top on the ground. She drops her weight off of her hands and feet, laying on top of him, her head resting on his chest as his head lolls to the side as if he's sleeping. He suddenly slides out from underneath her, rolling gracefully before hopping to his feet, Molly following his movements a split second later. He jumps forwards, his arms outstretched to his sides, his feet facing outwards, high off the ground as he spins a full 360 in the air, landing right in front of her, their faces inches apart.

_**I can't sleep with your heartbeat slowing down.**_

They begin to circle each other in quick, careful and graceful movements, until suddenly Molly is dancing faster and more precisely. She raises her leg, the skirt moving, and Brandon grabs her heel, pulling her forwards by her foot as she stands on the toes of her other foot, sliding forward easily as he spins her around.

_**The hair you left scattered,**_

_**Like wishes that led to your room.**_

Brandon drops her foot and steps forward as she falls limply, catching her, his biceps under her armpits and her arms hanging loosely over his shoulders as he stumbles backwards, still somehow graceful, and drags her with him, growing closer to the floor until again they're lying, with her on his chest and his back on the floor, this time right next to his discarded fedora.

_**I bury my face in your pillow…**_

_**Just to smell your perfume.**_

Brandon leans even closer, raising his head, their gazes boring into each other. He sniffs at her hair, visibly and audibly, and grabs her shoulders, pushing her upper body away slightly as he turns his head slightly, his fingers looking as if they're digging into her skin.

_**Outside I'm hungry,**_

He pulls her body towards him, and then shoves her away, his hands locked on her shoulders.

_**But inside… I'm just consumed.**_

His hands drop, his head turning towards her, swallowing visibly.

_**Tell me how am I supposed to breathe…**_

I'm close enough to read his desperate and hopeless body language as he slams his hands on the ground, her feet grip his thighs and I can't believe that these are two eleven year old kids, dancing like this.

_**When losing you is choking me?**_

Her hands wrap around his throat, pushing his head towards the floor. His hands go back to her shoulders, pushing at her but she's still pressing down, until he shoves her away. She goes flying backwards, although I know that she's doing it willingly, and she scrambles to her feet in the midst of falling to the ground, regaining her balance almost immediately, doing a flurry of spins as she whips towards him. Her skirt flies backwards and then twists around her, lifting and lowering, her arms wrapped around herself. As she starts to spin right past him, Brandon reaches out and catches the crook of her elbow, pulling her in to his chest.

_**I can feel your heartbeat slowing down.**_

Suddenly, his hand snakes down her right leg with his right hand until his arm is under the back of her knees, and he flips her backwards, onto his shoulder, holding her there as they spin around, her arms flung out to the side.

_**I can feel your heartbeat turn me around.**_

He bends slightly, his head lowering, spine flattening, and Molly rolls across his back from his right shoulder to his left, now on her back as he straightens up, his left arm holding her up. Her arms are still outstretched, and so is his right, as they do a series of 360 spins.

_**You can take my life.**_

Suddenly, just as they stop spinning as drastically, slowing down, Molly rolls off of Brandon's shoulder, looking so close to hitting the floor that I feel and hear my breath catch in my throat. But then he's grabbing her forearm, and as her hands slam into the floor, the sound echoing in the gym, I know that he's holding up most of her weight, and that it didn't hurt her.

_**All you need.**_

Looking suddenly disgusted and upset, Brandon drops her arm, letting her fall the rest of the way to the floor. She rolls over, crawling forwards and grabbing onto his foot as he tries to walk away, holding him in place.

_**Make me right.**_

He shakes his head, looking back down at her. He swallows, yanking his foot out of her grasp and spinning three 360s in quick succession, kicking his foot out as he jumps forward, spinning again around his hat, before suddenly breaking into a run and sliding across half of the stage on his knees, as his body continues to spin, crashing into her as they spin around on the floor, his hands on her cheeks as they stare in each other's eyes, her knees pinned in between his thighs. She shoves his chest, and he flops onto his back on the floor, pulling her down by her arms until her head rests on his neck.

_**I can't sleep with your heartbeat slowing down.**_

This time it's her who extracts herself from the embrace, sliding backwards as she pulls her knees to her chest, looking away at the stage wall.

_**I freaking hate this town.**_

Brandon jerks upright in a somehow graceful yet choppy movement, sliding forwards to her with almost no starting momentum, and impressive feat.

_**I wanna burn it down.**_

They both roll away from each other at the exact same moment, rolling once more before getting up. Molly is on her stomach, and she pushes herself up into a sort-of side plank position, before half rolling, half spinning and flinging herself up, righting herself in the air. Brandon, however, plants his hands on either side of his body, lifting himself up and spinning his legs in all directions, somehow ending up on his head and spinning on it. He flips, suddenly, ducking his head towards his knees and landing gracefully, his feet kicking out behind him over and over, one at a time as he dances backwards, away from Molly, who spins towards him again. He spins to face away from her, gracefully dancing forward yet again. She catches up with him, grabbing the back of his black jacket, clutching him, and instead of stopping his movements, he lets her pull the jacket off of him, leaving him in his tank top. He wraps his arms around himself, ducking as she leaps at him.

_**I never felt so cold.**_

Her lunge sends her flying over his back, making me think she's going to hit the wall, but his hands reach her just in time, his right grabbing the hip that's closest to the floor, his left grabbing the leg on top, leaving her facing the crowd until they spin. He flips her behind him again, this time not catching her, but Molly lands on her feet, dancing towards him without hesitating.

_**And when I burn this town,**_

She jumps at him again, this time successfully planting her knees on his back. He moves his hands towards his back, grabbing her knees and pulling them off of his back. She doesn't fight it.

_**I hope I burn it down.**_

Instead, she lets him, sliding her legs up until they hang over his shoulders. She drops her arms, and he clutches her knees, spinning yet again as her hands dangle farther down than her face, her back pressed against his.

_**And leave me on my own.**_

He yanks at her legs, lifting her higher onto his shoulders, and she grips his shoulders with her hands, too, before he lets go of her knees. Her back is still pressed against his, but her legs are slipping off of his shoulders, and her hands are near her knees as she lets her lower body flip back. Her arms are now the only thing holding her up as he begins to spin even faster, and suddenly she lets go.

_**You can take my life.**_

He continues to spin around, grabbing her from midair in the middle of her fall, his arms securing her to his chest, still spinning, not stopping the momentum.

_**All you need.**_

They continue to spin, maintaining the same speed.

_**Make me right.**_

They begin to visibly slow down, although they're still moving pretty fast, and now they're moving towards the left side of the stage again.

_**How can you sleep with your heartbeat slowing down?**_

They jerk to a stop, suddenly. Brandon lets go of Molly completely, but she is basically wrapped around his legs, controlling her fall. Once she hits the ground, she releases his legs immediately, rolling over and clutching his fedora and jacket to her chest, almost as if she doesn't want to let go.

_**I can feel your heartbeat slowing down.**_

He yanks both of the items of clothing out of her hands, shoving the hat on, and he runs and slides again, back to his exact original spot on the stage, moving so that he's in the exact same position as he started in, his right hand on his hat, tipped low over his eyes, his left hand dangling, this time holding a fistful of his jacket, which hangs from it. The ring and the chain are still dangling around his neck, his chest rising and falling quickly. As my eyes move to Molly, I realize that she's in the exact same spot she started in, only now she's lying on the floor on her side, her legs pulled to her chest, staring at the crowd with sad eyes until the music fades away. There's only stunned silence for a few long seconds, until I realize that no one is clapping because they're in shock. Both kids stay in character, unsure of what to do, staying in their poses. I break into applause, others snapping out of their reverie enough to start to cheer. "That's my girl!" I shout, cupping my hands around my mouth.

"Ada boy, Brandon!" Andrew shouts. "Work those moves!" Brandon finally breaks character, yanking his hat away from his eyes, breaking into a grin. He drops his jacket, racing over to Molly, suddenly looking much younger than he had while dancing. He lets out an excited shout, and Molly rolls over. He grabs her hand, helping her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Her grin right then is bigger than I've ever seen it, and I feel a surge of pride. That's my girl. Brandon pulls Molly to the middle of the stage, releasing her and taking a small bow before stepping to the side and holding his hands out towards Molly. She curtsies, her grin growing, the crowd still screaming. She and Brandon grab hands, bowing down again, yanking upwards with an excited shout. Brandon turns, hugging Molly to his chest, and she laughs as she shakes her head. She pulls back, waving at the crowd, but Brandon's right arm stays draped over her shoulders. They walk off stage a few minutes later, Molly pausing and waving at me and grinning, as I keep shouting praise at them, Brandon running over to his jacket, scooping it up and waving at the crowd before grabbing Molly's hand.

**o0o0o**

A few minutes after the fifth graders all finish their performances, Andrea McKinney walks back on, grinning. "It has been quite a night, wouldn't you say, folks?" The cheers are resounding, surprisingly loud for an elementary school talent show. "I would just like to say that everyone did and amazing job, and since it went so long tonight, we'll only be able to announce the winning act." She pauses for a minute, holding the card with the act on it, smiling at us. "So. Now, without further ado, this year's winners of the Capers Ville Elementary annual talent show are… Molly Mitchell and Brandon McCail!"

Our family's whole section jumps up, cheering, and many other families in the gym clap and shout as they run out on stage to get their small trophy. Andrea hands it to Brandon, who is now wearing his jacket again. He thanks her in a rush before spinning around and lifting Molly of the ground. She lets out a delighted squeal as he spins her around, giggling. He laughs, too, handing her the trophy. Andrea steps forward and takes it, saying something to them. Brandon looks around the crowd, looking for someone, and then Molly takes his hand, dragging him towards us. His face lights up as he catches sight of Andrew, running towards him. "Grandpa!" He shouts.

I look away from them, grabbing Molly and hugging her to me. "You did amazing." I murmur into her hair. She grins at me as I put her down, giggling happily before hugging everyone else. I hear a cough from beside me, and look over to see a sheepish Brandon standing next to Andrew, who pulls his hand off of his grandson's shoulder. Brandon steps forward, behind Molly, who turns around, a smile growing on her face.

"Hey, Brandon!" She says, reaching out to hug him. He returns the hug, pulling back and taking his hat off of his head, fiddling with the sides as he looks towards the ground. "What's up?"

He rubs the back of his neck nervously, a habit that Andrew used to have, one that I got from him and then inadvertently transferred to Jesse. "I just, uh, was going to give you my hat. That is, if you still want it?" It comes out as a question, although I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a statement. Molly giggles, blushing and nodding. "Uh, cool." He says, still fiddling with it. "That's, uh, really cool." He reaches forward hesitantly, the hat in his outstretched hand. She takes it from him with a smile, placing it on her head backwards. Brandon laughs. "That's um, you have it on wrong." She tries to fix it, but somehow makes it look worse. Brandon laughs again. "Here, um, I'll fix it." He grabs it, gently lifting it, spinning it around and placing it back on her head, tilting it down slightly. "There. Perfect."

Molly's smile grows wider. "Thanks, Brandon."

Chloe steps forward. "How about everyone comes over for a celebratory barbeque at my place? It's only 3:30, everyone can stay for a while." Everyone agrees, nodding, except for Brandon and Andrew.

"Andrew and Brandon can come too, right, Chlo?" I offer hesitantly.

Chloe looks surprised at the use of the nickname but nods after a second. "Of course." She says, smiling. "You are more than welcome to come."

**JJ POV-**

Casey is attached to my hip as we walk outside to sit with my family again. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, hugging her to me as I kiss her forehead. "We'll be okay, Case." I assure her, and her arms wind tighter around my waist. Just as we sit down in a lawn chair, Molly runs up to me, skidding to a stop, her face flushed and her hair whipped up in a ponytail, panting. I groan, knowing exactly what she wants. She's wearing a tank top and shorts, a basketball in the crook of her arm.

She doesn't waste any time asking for it. "Hey, JJ, can you come play basketball with Brandon and me?" She doesn't wait for my answer, instead turning to look at Alix. "And can you, too, Al?" She asks.

We both sigh, sharing a look, before glancing at our mom, who is staring us down. We have to play. "Sure, Moll. We'd love to." Alix says, her smile tight lipped. Everyone here is celebrating, except for Alix, Terra, Casey and me. We're sad.

I kiss Casey's cheek, standing up, following my sisters to our basketball court. Brandon waits there, staring at me with a mix of some sort of awe and shock. I have no doubt it's because of my position. I'm point guard and captain of the basketball team at my school, have been since last year, when I was a freshman. Some people were skeptical, until I lead us to the state finals, winning us the title of champions. Brandon's lips lift upwards into a grin as Molly passes him the ball. "Hey, JJ." He says before turning to Molly. "Let's play boys against girls. Me and JJ against you and Alix." He suggests, and Molly grins.

"That's cool. Just be prepared to be creamed." She says, and I shove her playfully.

"Already talking smack, Mol?" I ask, clicking my tongue at her.

She rolls her eyes. "Can we just play ball, please?"

I nod, turning to Brandon, who passes me the ball. I laugh shaking my head, grabbing his shoulder and moving him to the top of the three point line, giving him a bounce pass, which he receives easily. "You're playing point, little dude." I tell him, and then I move to post. Alix follows, getting into a good defensive position. Molly takes her place and Brandon checks the ball to her. She checks it back, staring him down, and he breaks into a grin as he starts to dribble.

He fakes to the left, but she doesn't go for it, instead predicting his next movements and batting the ball out of his hands as he crosses over. The ball's knocked loose, and before I can register it, Alix is already there, scooping it up out of the fray of Brandon and Molly's hands, racing down towards the end of the court, dribbling like a pro. I'm faster than Alix, though, so I manage to catch up just as she reaches the net. Instead of going for the layup, she surprises me, faking the shot and then overhead passing to Molly, who must've run down after me. She's laying the ball up before Brandon can recover from the fake she does, and the ball goes in. Girls: 2. Boys: 0.

**o0o0o**

By the time an hour has passed, Brandon and I are still losing, although we're making a good comeback. Our family has long since come and situated themselves around the court, a makeshift scoreboard in a sand box, being kept by Terra, my mama keeping the time, my mom playing impromptu referee. She blows a whistle that Terra got from Alix and Rose's room, hitting her left arm with her right hand. Damn. Brandon fouled Molly as she took a shot. I run up to him, hitting his back supportively. "It's alright. Nice effort, nice effort." The proud smile that spreads across his face makes me grin back. Molly takes her two free-throws, making both of them. I groan, looking at the scoreboard as Terra wipes her hand over the sand on the girls' side, using her finger to write the new score. Girls: 38, Boys: 34.

It's our ball now, and I take it out, passing it to Brandon and then sprinting down court. I turn around at about half court, watching as Brandon dribbles it down. He's being fancy, showing off, but then my mama shouts out "Twenty seconds!" Panic spreads across his face, but he keeps his dribbling calm, not showing off anymore. He's stuck for a while, Molly not falling for any of his fakes, and then she actually manages to hit it out of his hands. He dives for it, covering it with his body, rolling onto his butt. He fakes a pass to the left, Molly falling for it this time, and rips the ball to the right, passing it to me. I take a step back, just outside the three point, and take a jumper, just as Alix's hand smacks into my arm. I stumble backwards, unable to keep my balance, falling to the ground. I curse under my breath, amazed as the shot still falls in, and then mom's blowing the whistle for a shot block foul. Alix stares down at me sheepishly, blushing, and offers me her hand. I accept it, moving towards the free-throw line. The score is at 38 to 37, in favor of the girls.

"You've got one." My mom informs me, her eyes (which might as well be mine, because we have the same) twinkling at me. "Make it, you get another. Miss it, game over." She backs up, holding up one finger, blowing the whistle and giving me the ball. I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, before exhaling and looking at the hoop. I shoot, my follow through practically perfect, and the ball slips throw the net with a barely audible swoosh. The moment is perfect for all of three seconds, until I land. My ankle bends awkwardly, painfully, and I collapse to the ground with a surprised cry of pain. I wince, holding it, swearing under my breath and squeezing my eyes shut. Casey runs onto the court, kneeling down next to me, helping me sit up and clucking worriedly with her tongue.

"Are you alright?" She asks, frantic.

"Yeah, but I can't take that next shot." I tell her, and Molly overhears.

"So, does that mean the game's over?" She asks. "Who wins?"

Brandon steps forward. "I'll take the last shot." He offers. He smiles at me. "JJ can sit out. If I make it, I win. If I miss, we'll play me against you two the rest of the time, and if we go to overtime, we'll play two against one."

Molly grins, no doubt thinking it's in the bag. "Done."

I roll my eyes, standing up, wincing again as my foot touches the ground. I limp over to Brandon. "Alright, buddy. You got this free throw. Just relax, take a step back, and _swoosh._ It'll be over that fast."

He grins at me. "I got this, JJ. Don't worry." I ruffle his hair, feeling like he's my kid brother. If he and Molly got married in the future, it wouldn't surprise me. Derek, Rose's best friend and my basketball buddy, jerks his chin at me in greeting as I reach him.

"I'd offer to stand in for you," He tells me. "But I suck at free throws and defense, and I have a feeling that Brandon can handle this."

Casey, plopping down in my lap, snorts. "C'mon, dude. He's, what? Eleven? He can't take on Molly _and _Alix. This free throw is his only shot. Literally." I shake my head, but Rose is nodding.

"Yeah, Case is right. He's gonna get creamed if he misses this shot."

In tandem, Derek and I shake our heads, saying "You guys don't understand the way he moves. Not like we do."

We glance at each other uneasily. We say things like that, exactly the same and at the same time, very often. It's unsettling. Rose just laughs. "I swear, sometimes I think you two are twins." We turn towards the court again as mom blows the whistle, passing Brandon the ball. He doesn't wait long enough, doesn't focus himself, and the ball shoots off of the rim. A determined look crosses his face as Molly takes the ball out, his jaw set. He backs up to their half of the court, waiting for them to meet him. As Alix tries an overhead pass to Molly, he jumps in front of her, intercepting it. Instead of making a mad dash for the hoop for a quick layup, which he'd most likely rush and miss, he instead starts to dribble in place. He backs away from them, to the corner of the court, still dribbling, and then tosses the ball into the air over their shoulders, slipping in between them and catching it. He doesn't run for the hoop then, either, but continues his dribble and Rose mutters "What the hell is that kid doing? He could go take a shot."

I roll my eyes. She doesn't get it. This kid's strategic. He waits until my mama shouts out "Ten!" He backs away from Molly and Alix, walking to his side of the court, until at two seconds left, Molly gets impatient. She leaps forward, trying to rip the ball out of his hands, but he keeps his grip. He pulls them down, dropping to his knees, pulling his legs up towards him as they fight for it. Curled into the fetal position, he waits for the time to run out.

We all join in on the time. "Five! Four! Three! Two! One!" Terra pokes at her phone, and a horn blares.

"Why the hell didn't he-?" Rose starts to ask, cutting off when it dawns to her. "He gets the ball in overtime, doesn't he?" She asks, rolling her eyes. "Of course he does. Smart little devil."

Brandon flashes me a wicked grin as he takes the ball out, dropping it in and grabbing it before Molly or Alix can. He dribbles between his legs, somehow managing to move past Alix, and then he's one on one with Molly. He starts to run, beating her out at half court, and then he's home free as she begins to slow, too tired due to how much she was holding up side of the game. He slows down near the hoop, laying up a perfect shot, shouting with pride as the ball goes in. I shout and cheer, and Terra seems surprised as she changes the score. Girls: 38, Boys: 40.

He runs up to me, high fiving me, his eyes proud. "Did you see that, JJ? Did you see that shot?"

I laugh, ruffling his hair. "Yeah, buddy. I sure did."

**Brandon POV-**

After everyone leaves to go inside, leaving Molly and I alone on the court, she passes me the ball. "So, that was a great last couple of plays, Brandon." She tells me as I take a free throw. I miss it, yet again, and let out a loud sigh. Then I realize what she said and smile at her, fighting the urge to duck my head and rub my neck. _Play it cool, Brandon, don't let her know how much of a dweeb you are. Who even uses the word dweeb anymore?_ I sigh at my inner monologue.

"Thanks, Moll. You played a great game, too." I tell her genuinely.

She scoffs. "I didn't do well enough. I should've done better, like JJ." She looks so sad for a second, surprising me. I know that I feel things stronger than other eleven year olds and understand things I probably shouldn't, but I didn't think anyone else my age did. Looking at Molly now, I can tell that she probably does. My mom called it depression, what happened to me last year before we moved here, and I don't want Molly to feel that.

"Hey, Molly." I say, dropping the ball and moving towards her. "You did great, I swear." I put my hand on her shoulder, lifting her chin so that she'll look at me, much like in our dance. "You're so talented. Look at today alone. You won the talent show with your dancing and then you beat the crap out of JJ and I at basketball for more than an hour, because- let's face it –you were carrying your pair. So, don't beat yourself up about it."

She stares at me for a minute before looking away, nodding and giving me a timid smile. She walks over and picks up the ball, dribbling it before taking a jump shot, making it flawlessly, passing the ball to me off of the rebound. I sigh, jumping, missing completely, Molly catching the ball. "You have to actually try, Brandon." She informs me, rolling her eyes, walking closer as she hands me it. "Alright, I'll teach you how to take three points like JJ and I do." She walks me over to the three point line, situating me, squaring my shoulders to the basket. "Alright." She says. "You have to square your knees and shoulders to the hoop, first of all." I nod, doing as she says, correcting my leg posture. "Okay, what we do is we take a step back with our left foot," I take a small step back and she lets out a laugh. "No, like this." I look over as she moves, standing on the line, moving her foot back a bit farther than I did. I move mine to match hers.

"Kay." I say, smiling at her.

She moves back over. "Alright, now we drop our right shoulder." I do as she says, feeling tense. She notices this. "Try to relax your shoulder a little bit more, leaving it controlled but not overly tense." I manage to, and she beams at me. "Great. Now all you have to do is bend your knees and lift your shoulder back up as you jump, swinging your leg forward again. That'll increase your momentum." I do as she says, but I'm not moving fast enough, so it falls short.

She grins anyways, even as my shoulders slump. "Try it again, this time all together with game speed." I do it all in quick succession, focusing on technique, stepping back, dropping my shoulder, bending my knees, pulling everything together as I shoot. She claps as it goes in, and I hug her. She pauses for a second before hugging me back, her chin on my shoulder. "Great job, Brandon. It took me two hours to learn that and it took you like five minutes."

She runs over and gets the ball, taking a shot with ease, and I laugh as she passes it to me. "Yeah, but you've mastered it by now. I still need to practice." As if proving my point, the ball falls short again. I run and get it, passing it to her. She fires off a shot before shrugging, passing it to me.

"Yeah, but I've had years of JJ teaching me to practice." She points out. "You're a quick learner, but I'm stupid. It takes me longer." I miss my shot as I jerk towards her.

"Hey, you're not stupid, Molly." I tell her, anger in my tone.

She looks surprised. "Why are you mad?"

I shake my head, retrieving the ball and passing it to her. She doesn't take the shot, instead dropping the ball, and it rolls away. "I don't take kindly to people insulting you. Not even you yourself."

She shakes her head, walking away and picking up the ball, taking a shot with too much force. "I don't see why you care, Brandon, no one does." She says angrily, picking up the ball. I grab her shoulder, turning her to face me.

"How can you even say that? Molly, look how many people showed up for you today!" My voice raises, and so does hers as she answers.

"They just pity me Brandon, just like you." She yells. I'm glad that everyone's far away. "All my mother cares about anymore is alcohol, and all my mom cares about is her infuriatingly sweet girlfriend and her music, and all JJ cares about anymore is Casey and basketball. Alix and Terra care only about each other and writing each other songs, and all Rose cares about is Derek and her anger towards my mother! All my aunts and uncles care about my mom and Uncle Jesse. All you care about is dancing and basketball. I just want someone to actually care, Brandon, for once." She's on the verge of tears now.

"Molly, that's not true." I yell back. I'm angry now. Doesn't she see how good she has it? "They all care about you, and so do I. You think this is bad?"

"How much worse could it get, Brandon?" She asks desperately.

"I don't know." I snap sarcastically. My voice drops lower again, just above a whisper. "Maybe you could've had a selfish jerk for a father that left you when you were six, when your mom was recovering from being an alcoholic and your brother was in middle school, for a nineteen year old girl and heroin. Maybe you would've had a brother that was your idol, that you looked up to for years, who had a girlfriend that you adored. And maybe that brother might've been stupid after winning a football championship and might've gotten drunk at a stupid party and driven into a telephone pole, killing both him and his girlfriend. Maybe your mom would've been lost in her grief, drinking herself into a shell of the person she'd been, recovery being a distant wish. Maybe then you would've started coping by throwing yourself into your dance lessons with more vigor than you'd ever even imagined before. Maybe the only person who would've showed up for your dance routine in your last elementary school talent show would've been your step-grandfather who has no obligation to love you or your mom or your grandma and help you guys recover but does anyways. Maybe that's what your life could've been like, Molly. Maybe that's what some eleven year olds lives are like." Now Molly might think she's stupid, but she's definitely not. She couldn't be, judging by how fast she realizes that I was talking about me.

She takes a step towards me. "Brandon…" She says softly. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. You didn't… you didn't tell me any of that."

I sigh, waiting for my breathing to slow down. "It's alright, Molly. I know you didn't. But don't ever feel like no one cares. I do." She nods, and then we go back to shooting hoops. After about five more minutes, I swallow, blinking and rubbing my neck after I pass her the ball. Once she makes it, I turn towards her, the ball clutched in my hands after catching her pass. "So, I was thinking that you should be my girlfriend." I say, trying to sound casual, when my mind is running circles. "I mean, we're already best friends and dance partners and I figure I care about you an awful lot. It's perfect, don't you think?"

She freezes in place, a slow smile spreading over her face as I shoot, trying to downplay the importance of the question. She steps towards the basket, spinning the ball in her hands once she grabs it. She spins it between her fingertips before flattening the palms of her hands on the sides, nodding at me. "Yeah. That sounds cool." She grins at me, and I know that she's trying to match my casualness. She hands me the ball, our fingers brushing slightly, and we smile at each other as I take a shot like she taught me to, making it with a swish. With Molly Mitchell as my girlfriend and my best friend, maybe my life won't be so bad anymore after all.

**So, this was originally way longer, but it got to the point where it was like 10,600 words, and I wanted to add more to the end of it, so I split it into two chapters. The next chapter should be up relatively soon, maybe later today or tomorrow. Also, spoiler, Terra and Casey are going to move to Seattle, I don't want you guys to get your hopes up for them staying, because they're not. Sorry. That doesn't mean I'm taking them out of the story, because I'm not. They'll still be in it. Reviews:**

**123a456e: Thank you. :)**

**hollymariec0mbs: Exactly. Thanks for reviewing. :)**

**gossipssweetlips: Yeah, Jesse is definitely hurting right now. I was thinking of making Jesse and Cassidy a couple, but decided against it because Cassidy's still in love with Beca and Jesse isn't over Aubrey and that would just be a mess. I know that Beca and Chloe becoming friends was pretty rushed, but I'll clear it all up soon. I actually have no clue who Beca's going to end up with in this, or Chloe for that matter, I'm still considering everyone with feelings for Beca as someone she might end up with. :)**

**Cookierhys10: If you thought that chapter was loaded, when I upload the next chapter after this, imagine this chapter and the next mushed together into one, lol. Yeah, I feel bad for Aubrey and Chloe when I'm writing it, too. And about talking, I'll definitely take you up on that offer if my depression gets worse. I'm glad you're still enjoying it, we'll see where it's going with Bechloe, not quite sure what I'm doing with it yet. :)**

**Guestttt: Sadly, Terra is going to Seattle, I promise. And yeah, Aubrey leaving is sad. I'm not sure when, but I'll bring her back at some point, probably. And I will, thanks. :)**

**ballpointmf: Thanks. :)**

**Just realized that I put a smile at the end of every single one of those… that kinda scares me. I hope more of you will review on this chapter (please) because it literally makes my day. And I'm sorry for the dance scene if it's as weird as I think it is, I just felt like I should include it. If you didn't read it, basically Brandon and Molly danced to 'Heartbeat Slowing Down' by All-American Rejects, and they're really advanced for eleven year olds, and they ended up winning the talent show. Oh, and Brandon gave Molly the hat that they used in the scene.**

**Love you awesome nerds.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys, just so everyone knows, I'm basing Brandon and Molly's attitudes and knowledge off of what I was like as an eleven year old, so… if it seems unrealistic, just remember that. Sorry for the long wait, I'm pretty sure I know where I want this to go, but I'm having trouble getting it there. I'm open to suggestions. Also, I'm gonna start taking prompts, so if you have something you want me to write, feel free to prompt it. Pairing doesn't matter, it doesn't even have to have a pairing. Enjoy.**

**P.S- I didn't edit this chapter**

**Disclaimer: I still own nothing but my imagination and mistakes.**

**JJ POV-**

"I think we should break up." Casey says calmly, pulling away from me, standing up. I'm frozen in place for a moment before jumping to my feet.

"What?" I ask incredulously. "You… why?"

She shakes her head, not meeting my eyes. "We aren't working, JJ. This is barely working here, it won't work long distance." She mumbles.

I catch her wrist before she can move. "Casey, I know that's not what you think." I plead desperately. She doesn't move, instead staring at the ground.

"Yes, it is, JJ." She says, her tone more forceful, yanking her arm away and balling her fists. "It's over."

"You can't even look at me. Look me in the eyes, and maybe I'll believe you."

She yanks her head up, her eyes meeting mine. "We're over, JJ." She tells me calmly, and then she turns and leaves my room. I rip my hands through my hair, running after her.

"Casey, wait!" I yell, storming down the stairs after her. She just picks up the pace, moving past my family members, who are all sitting in the living room. Molly stands up, but Brandon grabs her arm, pulling her away and shaking his head. Smart kid. My moms both stand up, exchanging worried glances, but then I'm out the door, running after her into the rain. "Where the hell are you going, Casey?" I shout, catching up to her and grabbing her arm, spinning her around. Her blue eyes, wild and panicked, meet mine.

"Let go of me, JJ!" She shouts, yanking her arm out of my grip. Her eyes and voice soften. "Just let me go."

I realize after a second that she's not talking about physically letting her go. She wants me to move on. I run after her car, slamming my hand down on the trunk as she drives away, pushing my drenched bangs out of my face. I stand there for a few minutes, staring as her tail lights fade from view, unable to comprehend the turn of events. Terra and Alix walk out after another few seconds, and Terra sighs, patting my shoulder. "I'll try to talk to her, JJ, but I can't promise anything. Casey can be one stubborn bitch sometimes." She hugs me, then kisses Alix, and makes a mad dash for her car. Once she drives away, too, Alix turns to me. She places her hand on my arm, yanking it back after barely a second.

"Jesus, JJ, you're shaking." She says, moving closer. Her eyes study my face, softening even more than they already were, her red hair drenched and plastered to her shoulders. She has a jacket and jeans on. I'm in a black tank top and shorts. "Oh, JJ, it's alright. Don't cry." I look at her quizzically.

My voice comes out unsteady and wavering as I say "I'm not crying, Alix, that's just rain."

She shakes her head but drops the subject, instead grabbing my arm and tugging me under the cover, moving me towards the house. We stop outside the door, which Alix must've left open. "Moms, we need some towels! Quickly!" She shouts. Molly and Brandon come running, each holding two. Alix grabs one from Brandon, but I make no movement at all. She sighs exasperatedly, waiting for me to move. I don't. I don't want to do anything. Not without Casey.

**Alix POV-**

After a few more dramatic sighs, JJ still doesn't move. I take the towel I grabbed from Brandon and throw it over his head, toweling off his hair. I half expect him to yell and push the towel away, but he just stands still, allowing me to dry off his face. It doesn't stay dry for long, seeing as tears are streaming down his cheeks, but I move on. I lift his arms up, grabbing the bottom of his tank top, pulling it over his head and dropping it next to me on the porch. I dry off his back, sides, and chest, throwing the towel to the side once it's soaked through. I look down at his feet, realizing that he didn't put on shoes, and swear. We have a gravel walkway and Uncle Jesse dropped a glass beer bottle earlier, one that we didn't clean up yet. "Seriously, JJ?" I sigh, grabbing his arm and moving him to sit in one of the chairs on our porch, propping his legs up on the little side table. I swear again as I look at the bottom sides of his feet. There's glass and rocks sticking out of both of them, but JJ doesn't look like he can feel it. Hell, he might not. Yet.

I sit down in another chair, Molly and Brandon still at the door, but I pay them no attention. I start with his right foot and the rocks, pulling them out one by one, setting them on the table. Some of them are bloody, actually cutting into his foot, others just sticking to it. Once all of those are pulled out, JJ not wincing once, I move on to the glass. I start with the smaller pieces, somehow keeping my calm as I pull them out. I hear other footsteps, my mom muttering about how long it's taking us, but I don't pay attention. I just want this dirt and grime out of my brother's feet. I pile the little pieces next to the rocks, moving onto the bigger pieces.

Once everything's out of his right foot, I grab the wet towel from before. It's clean, just wet, and so I wipe the blood that's running down towards his ankle off of his foot, dabbing gently. He doesn't even react, just staring off into space. Now I'm getting worried. I move on to his left foot, dropping the towel beside me, going through the same process. Once I'm down to the last piece of glass, I allow myself to let out a small sigh. None of them were deep. I grab the small piece and tug. It doesn't budge very far, only moving about a centimeter, and I raise my eyebrow. As I pull again, I realize that it's not coming out because it's stuck in deep. It's near the heel of his foot, and as I keep pulling, I realize that the cut is wider than I thought. I place my left hand on his foot, pushing against it as I try to pull it out. It comes out with a sickening squelching sound, blood running down it, and I wait for JJ to cry out in pain. He doesn't.

I stare in shock at him before turning to look at the glass. I move it to the side of his heel, leaving the amount that was sticking out off of my measurement, and feel a twisting in my stomach. It's a couple of inches long, reaching from the bottom of his foot to his ankle, and he didn't feel anything our show any sign of pain. I drop the glass on the pile, my hands shaking, and wipe the blood on my hands on the towel before wiping the blood off of his foot. I drop the towel onto the porch, turning towards my mom, shaking my head. "He didn't feel any of it, mom. Nothing." Her face doesn't change, instead looking at JJ. They look so much alike in that moment. Heartbroken.

"He's just in shock, honey. He'll feel it later, I promise." She walks over to him, patting his legs and moving his face towards hers. "Hey, honey. I'm gonna need you to snap out of your little daze, buddy, at least until we get you changed and in bed, alright?" JJ doesn't move. "You should snap out of it on your own before I make you." She suggests. I look at her curiously, but JJ still doesn't move. With a sigh, my mom jerks her hand back, swinging it and smacking JJ on his cheek. His skin instantly becomes red and irritated, and I look at my mom with wide eyes. She just shrugs, muttering "You do what you gotta do."

He blinks, looking around, his eyes landing on mom, confused. "Why'd you slap me?" He asks, outraged, trying to stand up. Jesse walks over, holding JJ's shoulders down until he stops struggling. He winces, then. "What the hell happened to my feet?" He asks, and mom lets out a little laugh, not answering him. "Molly, go get me that white bandage from the bathroom."

She nods, running off, and Brandon suddenly looks lost, which is more than a little adorable. I seem to be the only one to notice, so I say "Hey, Brandon?" He turns to look at me, eyes wide. "Can you go upstairs to JJ's room and get him a pair of sweats, a pair of boxers, a pair of socks, a t-shirt, and a baggy sweatshirt? Go upstairs, take a right, and it's the first room on the left."

Brandon nods, smiling slightly at me, before turning and running upstairs. Molly reappears, bandage in hand, looking curious. "Where's Brandon going?" She asks, walking over and handing my mom the bandages. She takes them from her, beginning to wrap one of JJ's feet.

"He's getting JJ some clothes." I tell her, finishing the text I'm typing to Terra and sending it. "Hand me that towel." I say, pointing at one. She walks over and tosses it to me. I drape it over JJ's shoulders, and he shoots me a grateful look as he pulls it tighter over his chest. As Brandon sets JJ's clothes down, rejoining everyone, my mother seems to notice my state, too.

"Alix Mitchell, what the hell do you think you're doing taking care of your brother right now? Get some warm clothes on and dry your ass up." I laugh at that, and so do Rose and Derek, who immediately sober up as my mother whips towards them. "If you think that's so funny, Rose, why don't you go get your sister some clothes." She snaps, and Rose hurries off to our room.

I watch as my mom wraps JJ's other foot, ripping off the edge of some gauze tape with her teeth and sticking it to his ankle, which is also wrapped. JJ pulls on the t-shirt that Brandon brought, followed quickly by the sweatshirt. "Molly, Brandon, go inside while JJ changes out of his shorts." She orders. Once their inside, JJ strips his shorts off, and the rest of us politely turn away as he starts to change out of his boxers. There's a slight rustling sound and then silence.

"I'm decent." He tells us, his voice gravely and low, and when I turn I realize that he's still crying. I sit back down in the chair I was in, and then Rose is on the porch, handing mama my clothes.

JJ walks inside with Rose, Derek and my mom, leaving me and my mother outside. "Here you go, baby girl." She says, handing me a towel.

"Thanks." I say, awkwardly, starting to dry my hair. It's still hard to know how to act around her, and I'm not quite sure if I've forgiven her or not for what she did to mom. I pull my jacket off and then my shirt, which sticks to my skin and makes a suctioning sound as I peel it off. I unhook my bra, grabbing the new one that Rose grabbed, putting it on. I pull my new tank-top on, followed by a sweater, and then shimmy out of my pants and underwear, sliding new ones on and a pair of loose sweats that I realize after further inspection are my favorite pair of Rose's sweats. I smile, sitting down to pull off my socks and put new ones on, when I realize that my mama still hasn't moved. "You alright?" I ask, noticing how sad she looks.

She smiles weakly at me, but it soon falls. "Yeah, sweetie. I'm just sad, is all."

I move towards her as soon as my socks are on, concerned. "Why?"

She sighs. "All of my children hate me, right now."

Now I sigh, pulling her into a hug. "We don't hate you, mama." I murmur. "We're just sad, too."

She smiles weakly at me. "I messed up, huh, Lix?" I smile at the nickname. She's the only person who ever calls me Lix. Even Terra calls me Ali. I kind of secretly like Lix more.

I shrug. "Yeah, you did. But you're still our mother, and we love you. No matter what. Just… I think we all need an apology from you. You've never really explained to us what happened and why it happened at all. You've never talked to us kids about it. We need that." I kiss her cheek before walking inside, leaving her with her thoughts. She comes in after a few minutes, sparing me a glance and a warm smile.

**Terra POV-**

When I get home, I storm upstairs to Casey's room, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind me. She sits up in her bed, throwing the comforter off, lifting her hands up as if to stop me, her eyes red and swollen, no doubt from crying. I don't care, though, not when she brought this on herself. "What the hell is your problem, Casey?" I shout, glad for once that my parents are too busy with their jobs to ever be here.

"What the hell is _your _problem, Terra?" She screams back, jumping out of bed. "Why are you fucking yelling at me?"

I grab her shoulders, pushing her backwards until her back slams into the wall, and she stares at me with wide eyes. "You just broke that boy's heart, that's why!" I scream back.

She swallows, looking away. "He'll get over it. He doesn't really love me. He just thinks he does, but he doesn't Terra, he really doesn't."

I grab her chin, perhaps more forcefully then needed, and turn her to face me. "If you really think that, Casey, then you are not nearly as intelligent as I used to think you were." Before she can respond, I jerk away from her. "That boy stood in the rain, staring after your car for twenty minutes in the pouring rain, as if he expected you to come back." I grab my phone from my pockets, where it just vibrated to alert me of a text, and open it. I take a deep breath as I read it.

**Brandon ran after Casey barefoot, and he stepped in the glass from the beer bottle my Uncle Jesse broke. I sat him down and pulled all of it out of his feet, but he didn't even react at all. I don't know how to help him. –Alix**

I turn the screen towards Casey, and her face pales as she reads it, pushing my hand away. "It doesn't matter, Terra. We'll be gone by the end of the week. Have you told Alix that yet? How soon we'll be gone? That she really doesn't have any time left with you?"

I step forwards again, getting closer to her face. "Maybe you're too stupid to see what real love is, Casey, but Alix and I can see it. We have it. And we have all the time in the world, no matter where we are." I turn and stomp out of her room, slamming the door behind me and storming off to my room, dropping onto the bed with a sigh, pulling my phone out again. I dial Alix's number, holding it up to my ear.

"Hey, babe." She says, sounding tired. I close my eyes, sighing, and concern leaks into her tone. "Terra, what's wrong?"

I don't realize how close to tears I am until my voice breaks as I whisper "I'm leaving Saturday morning, Alix." I sniff, trying to hold in my emotions, but when I hear a rustling sound like Alix is sitting up, I have to choke back another sob.

"Terra, sweetie, don't cry." She murmurs, slightly shocking me. She reads me better than I can most of the time. "This doesn't change anything, okay? Not a thing."

"But, Alix… How can you say that? You don't know that." I try to steady my voice but it comes out as a pitiful whimper.

Her voice is low and steady as she starts to speak again after a slight pause. "Because, Terra, I can't afford to think any other way. We have to believe that we love each other enough to make this work because if either of us doubt it for even a minute, that's going to make it that much harder." She pauses again before sighing, her voice softening. "I am in love with you, Terra, and nothing's going to change that."

I pause, too, swallowing and nodding, closing my eyes again. I realize she can't see me, though, and so I manage to croak out "I know. I'm sorry. I love you, too."

I can hear the smile in her voice as she yawns. "I know, Terra. It scares me, too. But we'll be okay." She yawns again, and I smile despite the pain in my heart.

"Get some sleep, Ali." I murmur into the phone, imagining that she's closer to me. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

I can almost see her nodding, fighting another yawn as she says tiredly "'Kay. I love you, Terra."

"I love you, too." I reply genuinely.

"G'night." She murmurs, and then the line clicks dead.

"Goodnight, babe." I whisper into the darkness of my room, dropping my phone with a sigh and rolling over, not bothering to change before I fall asleep.

**Rose POV-**

Alix drops back onto her pillows with a deep sigh, her hand against her forehead. "What's going on, Ali?" I ask, and she jolts up, her hand on her chest as she catches her breath.

"Jesus, Rose, you scared me." She breathes, and I chuckle. Her smile falls, though, and she pulls her knees to her chest, her back resting against the headboard of her bed.

"What's going on?" I repeat, but she shakes her head, running her hand through her hair.

"Terra and Casey are moving to Seattle." She discloses, and that sends me sitting up, too.

"What do you mean? It's Terra's senior year, they can't just… just… up and move away with no warning!" I hiss, trying not to shriek.

Alix shrugs helplessly, turning her head to look at me. "Yeah, well, their dad got a new job. He starts in two weeks, but they're leaving Saturday morning."

"But… they can't… they can't do that." I protest weakly, and Alix sniffs.

"They already have, Rosie. We can't change it." She shrugs pitifully again, giving me a watery smile. "Casey broke up with JJ, and I think I just talked Terra out of breaking up with me." She gnaws at her lower lip nervously. "We're going to try the whole long distance thing." A tear slips down her cheek, and that's all it takes to get me out of bed and moving to her. I plop down next to her, pulling her into a sideways hug. Her head rests on my shoulder, a tear slipping off of her cheek and running down my shoulder. "I just… I keep thinking about how much I'm going to miss her. And then I get to thinking that maybe she won't miss me as much as I miss her. Maybe she'll move on… Rose, what if she doesn't love me as much as I love her? I can't lose her. Not again."

I rub her arm. "Hey, Alix, if there's one thing I know, it's that Terra loves you more than anything. She won't move on, and neither will you. You guys can go to the same college next year, or at least college's in the same state, and everything will be great, alright?"

"I'm going to Barden U, Rose, with you. Remember? And Terra's undecided." She reminds me, and I -breathe out a sigh. She's right. "She'll probably find some jock guy who she loves more than me and marry him and have beautiful children with a perfect house and a white picket fence and puppies and best friends who are better than us and-." She breaks off her bitter rant with a sigh.

"Look, Alix, you need to give Terra some more credit. She wouldn't do that to you and we both know it, right?" I prod.

Alix nods against my shoulder. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"It's totally fine, Alix. You have a right to be worried, but I think it's pointless." I plant a kiss on her forehead, moving from her bed. "Get some sleep, we have school tomorrow." I crawl into my bed, turning off the lamp on my nightstand. With a sigh, Alix turns off hers, too. She doesn't move, though, and she's still sitting with her back against the headboard when I finally lose myself to my exhaustion.

**o0o0o**

**(One Week Later)**

**Alix POV-**

I take a deep breath, grabbing Terra's last bag and pillow, heaving a sigh as I walk down the stairs. JJ walks up as I walk down, giving me a sympathetic look, which I return. I move through the front door, down the front steps, and down the driveway until I reach the Uhaul truck. I walk up the ramp attached to the back, searching for an open spot, finally finding one and placing the bag there. I fold up the pillow as best as I can, stuffing it between two boxes. I turn around, only to be pulled into a fierce hug by none other than Terra. Her black hair blinds me for a second before I recover, and then she's pulling away, her gray eyes filling with tears. She tries and fails to blink them back and they spill over. I wipe some away with the pads of my thumbs, shushing her. I don't realize I'm crying, too, until she kisses my cheek, giggling slightly through the tears. "Hypocrite." She murmurs, her eyes flickering between my lips and my eyes. "I'm gonna miss you so much." She whispers, her voice breaking on 'you'. I kiss her nose, pulling her into another hug.

"I know, Terr." I kiss her shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you, too." Before I can say anything else, I'm cut off by Casey.

"It's time to go, Terra." She says, sounding exhausted. I can't bring myself to be concerned, not after what she did to JJ. He still came to help out, because he'd told her he would, and JJ doesn't break promises. I hold Terra tighter, not ready to let her go.

"No." She chokes out, and I sniff, trying not to cry even harder. She clings to me. "No, I'm not ready."

Casey lets out an agitated sigh. "C'mon, Terra. You guys don't go an hour without texting. You're never going to be more ready than you are now, and we have to leave."

Terra buries her face into my neck, wetting it with tears, and I pull away. I cup her chin, pulling her lips to mine. She holds my shoulders, kissing me back, and I wind my hands through her hair. This is the last time that I'll be able to kiss her for at least a few months, and I need to remember this feeling. Her hands move to the nape of my neck, pulling me even closer, until Casey coughs loudly. She pulls away, too sad to even look embarrassed, and kisses me softly again. "I love you." She whispers, her eyes searching mine. "Okay? I love you and we'll be okay."

I nod, kissing her once more, closing my eyes and leaning my forehead against hers. I open my eyes a few moments later, pulling my face away and kissing her forehead. "I love you, too." I murmur back. "It's only six months until graduation, and then we'll be able to see each other. I'll drive to Seattle and visit you, alright?" She nods, and I kiss her. "I love you. Call me when you can." She kisses me once more, and then Casey is dragging her away. About halfway to her dad's pickup truck, Terra looks back at me and stops walking all together, freezing in place. She shakes her head at Casey and stares back at me, giving me a saddened smile. I realize that she's wearing one of my sweaters as she sighs visibly before blowing me a kiss and turning, walking the rest of the way to the truck and climbing in after Casey. I walk over to the door, closing it behind them, placing my hand on the window. Terra puts her hand across from mine, her eyes burning into mine, until her dad starts the engine and I have to back away. She doesn't move her hand, though, and the image of her sad eyes is burned into my memory by the time they're out of view.

I sigh, walking over to the guy they paid to drive the Uhaul truck. I hand him the key to the car. Terra's dad locked the back, taking that key with him, so as to assure that nothing would get taken. They also aren't paying the guy until all of their stuff reaches their apartment safely. "Thank you. Drive safely." I tell him, and he flashes me a charming smile.

"I hope everything works out for you and your girlfriend." He says genuinely, and then he's climbing into the bed of the truck, driving off. I walk over to JJ, who is kicking at the grass with his right foot, his eyes downcast.

"I'm going to go lock up the house. Do you want anything out of there first?" I ask, but he just shakes his head. With a sigh, I turn the doorknob, walking back upstairs and into Terra's room. I squat down by her closet, pulling out my pocket knife. I use the edge to carve 'A+T' in a heart. I wipe away the excess wood shavings, closing the knife and shoving it into my pocket. It seems unfair to leave the house with no reminder of the relationship that started here. I walk outside, locking the door behind me, coming up behind JJ and grabbing his shoulder. "Let's go, little bro." I sigh, and he wastes no time jumping into the passenger seat.

"Let's get out of here." He says, gruffly. "My feet hurt and I don't want to be reminded of her."

**Chloe POV-**

I grab my coffee, smiling at the barista as she bustles off to make another drink. I turn and walk to the exit, walking back to the hospital across the street. My hospital. My new intern, Aleah, runs up to me almost immediately. "Chloe-. Er, Ms. Beale." She says, correcting herself with a blush. "There is a Beca Mitchell waiting to talk to you."

My head snaps up from the chart I'm considering, my eyes burning into hers. "Beca's here? Where?"

Aleah's brows furrow. "Right, um, she's just in the ICU waiting room, she said it was important. Normally, Brian wouldn't allow her to pull you from your work, I'm sure, but when I asked he said that she told him to consult with you first before making your decisions for you." She rambles, cutting herself off.

"Wait, who is Brian?" I ask, confused.

Aleah stops herself short of rolling her eyes. "He's the new surgery intern, Chloe, but he got in trouble with Alec and Alec sentenced him to two months of ICU desk work. He's been there for a month and a half."

I shake my head, blinking with a sigh. "Right. Anyways, thank you. Beca was right, I would've been mad if I'd missed her. I don't know why she's here, though." I shake my head again, walking away. Once I reach the ICU doors, I open the doors, letting them shut with a small click. I spot Beca instantly, walking over towards her. She stands up when she sees me, wiping her hands on her jeans before crossing her arms, scowling. Oh, no. This cannot be good. Feeling nervous, I slow my pace slightly. She raises and eyebrow at me, so I start walking at my original pace. Once I reach her, I study her nervously. "Hey, Bec." I try. Her eyebrow rises farther. Okay, Chlo, tone it down. "What's wrong?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes. "Of course. Of course you don't know." She scoffs, shaking her head. Once she stops, her eyes burn into mine, the anger and disappointment in them causing me to flinch. "What time is it, Chloe?" She asks, and I know that this is significant, but I can't for the life of me figure out why.

I shake my head, frustrated. "I don't know, Beca. What time is it?"

She shakes her head again. "Okay, next question. What time were you supposed to pick up our daughter from school and drive her to her dance teacher's studio?"

I swallow nervously, clearing my throat. "I, uh, I didn't… She had dance today? Why didn't she tell me?"

Beca lets out a low sound, halfway between a groan and a growl. "Jesus, Chloe, she did tell you. And don't tell me that she must be mistaken because I was standing next to her at least three times when she reminded you. And I reminded you another time after that, and Rose said she reminded you again this morning." The anger fades from her eyes, and she uncrosses her arms, running a hand through her hair, and her disappointment washes over me in waves. "Seriously, Chloe, you didn't even ask if she's okay, or if I'd picked her up."

"I just assumed that-."

"Don't!" Her voice is raised to a shout, so she forcibly lowers it. "Stop just assuming things, Chloe, because sometimes assumptions are wrong!"

I wait for a second before asking my next question in a small voice, feeling sick and horrible. "I… Is she alright, Beca?"

Beca sighs, dropping her arms. "She's fine. She's very upset, she feels forgotten, but she's fine. Danni went and picked her up, dropped her off at Brandon's house, and-."

"Wait, wait, wait." I cut her off. "You sent Danni to pick her up? What the hell, Beca? Why didn't you ask me first?"

"Well, it's not like you left me with any other options, Chloe!" She protests, the anger flaring up again. "And if you'd bothered to check your phone in the past _three and a half hours_, Chloe, you'd see that I did call and text you, asking, multiple times. So when you're done working, stop by Brandon's house and pick up our little girl, who happens to think that you don't love her anymore. And maybe have a talk with all of them, because I'm pretty sure all of them feel that way, too." She tries to keep her tone down, succeeding mostly, but losing control at some points. "Jesus Christ, Chloe, pull your head out of your ass before you drive them so far away that they'll never forgive you."

"I thought we were friends." I manage to choke out. "I thought we were gonna try to be friends, Beca, you said we would and I-."

"Stop, Chloe, this isn't about _us._ This is about our children, and I don't think we should try to be friends until our children believe that you love them. Because right now? They're definitely doubting it." She turns and shoves the back door open, stalking outside, leaving me in shock. A hand drops on my shoulder, turning me towards the owner. It's a guy that looks slightly familiar. His black hair is wet, curly where it's dry, and his eyes are a piercing purplish blue intermixed with brown, a color that I've never seen before. He gives me a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asks, looking concerned. "I couldn't quite understand her, but she was definitely being harsh."

I try my hardest to force a smile, succeeding slightly, and nod. "Um, yeah. It's just… um, nothing. It's nothing."

"I told her that you were working, that she could come back later, but she yelled at me and told me not to make your decisions for you." He says, sheepishly. "If you want me to put her down as someone not allowed to page for you, I can do that."

I crack a legit smile, laughing slightly. "No, you um, probably shouldn't do that. She's, uh, she's important. Thank you for telling Aleah. It's Brian, right?"

He nods, sticking out a hand. "Yes, yes it is. And you are the infamous Chloe Beale, resident surgeon." He tells me, grinning when I nod back, taking his hand. His eyes twinkle at me. "So, I get off at seven thirty five. Do you want to go grab some dinner, maybe?" His eyes are hopeful.

I almost say yes before shaking my head. "I'm afraid I can't. I have to go pick up my daughter from her best friend's house and make up with her. But, I can go tomorrow?"

His smile falls slightly. "You, um, you have a daughter? Does that mean you have a husband or a boyfriend, or something, because this was kind of me asking you out, so that might be… bad." His next smile is again sheepish, but I let out a little laugh.

"I, um, have four kids, actually. But no husband. Um, Beca is my ex-wife." I explain.

He laughs, wiping his eyebrow playfully. "What a relief. So, are we on for tomorrow? As a date?"

"Definitely." I tell him, nodding, and he grins at me, squeezing my shoulder before dropping his arm. "Well," I drawl, winking at him. "I've gotta get back up there, prep for my last surgery of the day. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

He winks back. "Definitely." He teases, and I laugh before walking back to the surgery floor. My mood quickly falls as I think of Beca's anger and disappointment, along with her words. I love my kids, no doubt about it, but I need to learn to show it more often.

**Beca POV-**

After leaving the hospital furious at Chloe, I drive around for about a half hour, before finally winding up at my apartment. I walk inside, greeted by Cassidy and Danni, who both smile at me sympathetically. "So, how'd the COOCB go?" Cassidy asks.

I shake my head, rolling my eyes. "Another acronym, Cass? What does that one stand for?"

She laughs, rolling her eyes. "The Chewing Out Of Chloe Beale." She explains. "You like?"

I roll my eyes back at her. "Oh, yes, Cass." I drawl sarcastically. "I just adore it and your tendency to make up stupid acronyms that aren't even real words."

She gapes at me, mock offended. "Why, Rebecca, I'll have you know that I spend a lot of time on those acronyms, and I think you need to respect them."

I roll my eyes one more time. "Shut it, Cassidy, before I make you."

"Ooh, breaking out the threats, Mitchell?" She teases right back, sticking out her tongue at me.

I plop down in between them, sighing, done with teasing and jokes. "It went successfully. If, by successful, you mean that I yelled at her and made her feel guilty, which in turn made her look so crushed that it was all I could handle to force myself to turn around and storm out before I did something stupid, like apologized, or kissed her." After those words leave my lips, I immediately turn towards Danni, an apology already on my lips, but she cuts me off with an understanding smile and a hand held gently towards me.

"No need to apologize to me." She says, her smile wavering slightly. "I'm fine. I'm your friend, right?" I nod cautiously. She nods back. "So, I'll support you and listen to you talk about Chloe, and everything a good friend does."

Cassidy reaches over and squeezes my shoulder. "What'd you say to her?" She asks, as gently as she can.

I shake my head, sighing, throwing my head back. "Enough. Or maybe far too much. I mean, I was so furious, you know? So then I was yelling in the ICU waiting room about how she needs to pull her head out of her ass and show our kids that she loves them." I run my hand over my face. "And I might've said that her and I can't be friends until she does."

Cassidy lets out a sigh. "I mean, I think she deserves it. And you're right, she needs to start being there for your kids. She's focusing on trying to make you trust her again instead of her relationship with the kids, and it's not working."

"She knows that, Cass." Danni says gently. "You don't need to yell at Beca because you're angry at Chloe."

Cassidy lets out a sigh. "Yeah, I know. Sorry, Becs."

I shake my head, yawning. "It's alright. I'm gonna go to bed, though. I have a meeting with Andrew early in the morning, and I'm already exhausted." I turn to Danni, hesitating before she rolls her eyes, hugging me.

"Goodnight, Becs." She singsongs as she pulls back, winking at me. I laugh, relieved, and kiss her cheek.

"G'night, Danni." I say. I turn and hug Cassidy, who ruffles my hair and sticks her tongue out at me. I punch her arm playfully. "Night, Cass."

"You betcha." She quips, making no sense at all, but I just brush it off, walking to my room.

**Brandon POV-**

Once Molly's calmed down slightly, she raises her eyes to mine and grimaces. "I'm sorry, Brandon." She says, her tone making me frown.

"For what?" I ask quizzically, sitting up so that our backs are both pressed against the wall. "You didn't do anything."

She turns her head, looking at me, so I look at her, too. "You're never mean to me." She points out quietly.

I raise an eyebrow, trying to understand what she's trying to say, before shaking my head slowly. "N-no, I don't." I reply hesitantly, stumbling over the first word.

"Why not?" She asks, sounding almost accusing.

I lift my hands up defensively. "Do you want me to be mean to you?" I question, and Molly's expression turns pensive.

She hesitates for a moment before shaking her head. "No." She answers confidently. "No, I don't want you to be mean to me." She turns her head, scooting closer and resting it on my shoulder.

"Well, good." I put my left arm around her shoulders, running my hand through her hair, playing with the ends of the strands. "Because I'm not going to be. Ever. I promise."

At some point, Molly's head ends up on my thighs, and I begin to braid her hair, humming to myself. "I'm scared to get close but I hate being alone. I long for that feeling to not feel at all. The higher I get, the lower I sink. I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim. I'm scared to get closer and I hate being alone. I long for that feeling to not feel at all. The higher I get, the lower I sink. I can't drown my demons, they know how to swim."

I reach over and snatch up one of the ponytail holders that Molly took out of her hair after dance, tying the end of the braid. I pull her loose bangs over her ear, sighing. "What were you just singing?" She asks, causing me to jump slightly.

"I thought you were asleep." I tell her, smoothing one hand over her hair.

"Almost." She murmurs. "But not yet." She yawns, rolling over, blinking up at me. "Where'd you learn to sing like that?"

I just shrug. "It's nothing special, just something I've picked up."

She grins at me. "Humble, much?" She teases. "You're really good." Before I can respond, I hear a knock on the door. She sighs, rolling over and standing up. "That would be my mom."

I push myself up to my feet, walking after her towards the door. She opens it, grabbing her backpack and slinging it over one shoulder. I grab her dance bag before she can grab it, ignoring her protests as I step outside. "Hey, Ms. Beale." I awkwardly greet her, giving her a little nod. "I'm just going to go put this in the car for you." I walk down to the car, pulling open one of the doors to the backseat, setting the bag on the floor. I close the door, waiting a minute before walking back up to them, stuffing my hands in my back pockets as I wait for Molly to stop arguing.

After a few minutes, she turns to me, forcing a small smile. "Bye, Brandon. I'll see you at school tomorrow." She hugs me, not once looking at her mom as she walks to the passenger seat in the front, slamming the door shut behind her.

I smile sheepishly at her mother. "Sorry, Ms. Beale. She's a tad bit… hurt, right now."

She smiles at me, shaking her head with a small sigh. "I know. Thanks, Brandon. Feel free to call me Chloe."

I nod at her, waving at Molly's general direction. I walk up to my door, pulling it open and closing it lightly, sighing as I lean against it. Once they've pulled out of the driveway, I pull off my shoes, placing them neatly to the side of the cheap shoe rack I fixed up from the junk yard. I sigh again, walking into my room, grabbing the neck of the back of my sweatshirt, tugging it over my head and off of my arms. I drop it in the small pile of dirty clothes by the foot of my bed. I tug the bottom of my tank top down from where it's pulled up over my chest, running one hand through my hair before walking out of my room and down the hall. I walk into the bathroom, grabbing the Tylenol bottle and grabbing two of the pills, filling a small paper cup with water. Walking across the hall, I knock lightly on the next door, turning the handle without waiting for a response, stepping inside. I walk over to the prominent shape underneath the covers on the bed, placing my hand on her shoulder and shaking her ever so slightly. She lets out an unintelligible sound, rolling over and flinging the comforter off of herself, shielding her eyes with her hand as she squints at me. "Bran?" She asks, yawning, staring up at me and blinking a couple of times. "What time is it?"

I shrug, helping her sit up as she takes the pills and water from me. "It's around five at night, mom." I answer, kissing her forehead and taking the cup from her. I crumple it in my hand, dropping it in the wastebasket beside her bed. "How are you feeling?"

She drops back with a groan. "Like shit, as per usual." She grumbles, yawning again. I take in the dark bags underneath her eyes, the chalky paleness of her skin, and squeeze her thin hand.

"Have you eaten today yet?"

Her brows furrow as she thinks. She shakes her head after a moment. "No… What about you, have you eaten? Do you have lunch money?"

I nod, smiling at her. "Yes, mom. I've eaten. Grandpa gave me lunch money. He's taking care of us. Would you like me to order some pizza and invite him over?"

She nods, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. "That'd be nice. I haven't seen him in a few days. Just help me out to my chair, will you, Bran?"

I drape her arm around my shoulders, wrapping my own around her waist as I help her limp out of the room. Once I get her comfortable, I drape a blanket over her. She smiles waveringly at me, patting my arm, and I move to the phone to call my grandfather. "Hello?" His voice is gravely, and I wait until he's done coughing to speak.

"Hey, grandpa. I was wondering if you would come over for some pizza with my mom and I. It's been a while since you've seen her." I try to keep the worry out of my tone, but I know he can hear it.

"Of course I'll come, Brandon. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Okay. Goodbye."

My only response is a warm chuckle and the click as he ends the call. Sighing, I flip through the phone book until I find the number for the pizza place, dialing it and waiting for someone to pick up. It seems like waiting is all I do anymore.

**That's the end of this chapter, which… I feel like it's weird to end it there, but it would be weirder to end it anywhere else, so I went with it. I'll try an update sooner this time, but I might take a while again. My life is hectic atm, so… Also, I only got four reviews, so I'm taking that to mean that pretty much no one is still interested in this. Reviews:**

**123a456e: It's still nice to hear it, I don't mind you saying it every chapter. Thanks. :)**

**Guest: Thank you! :)**

**Rubiksmaniac: I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)**

**Guestttt: They should, shouldn't they? I read that and I've been trying to figure one out. Brolly? Mandon. Moldan. Brandly? Branly? Idk, none really work. I'm glad you like it. If you come up with a ship name, let me know. :)**

**Question 1: What do you guys think should happen with Terra in Seattle? I have a couple of ideas, but I'm not sure.**

**Question 2: What kind of sports do you guys play?**


	10. AN, Please Read Sorry

**Sorry about this, I hate it when these pop up in stories. I think I'm going to take a break from writing for a while, I'm having a hard time with this. Sorry. I'll… If I can't come up with something soon, I'll put the story up for adoption. Thanks for everyone who has been sticking with it, I promise it'll be finished at some point, but I don't know if I'll be the one to finish it. I have a lot of crap going on in my life, I'm trying to be okay, but it's not working. And making everyone wait for me to pull my shit together isn't really fair, but it's the only thing I can think to do right now. So, this story is officially being put on hold. Sorry again. Hope you don't hate me. Love you awesome nerds.**


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